The aim of this study was to determine the status of the United Arab Emirates’ Open Government Data usability within the mobile application development. This was done by reviewing the usability factors to develop a mobile application and assess the OGD datasets. An assessment instrument was designed by the researcher based on the reviewed usability factors, to assess the UAE OGD datasets.
From the study it was clear that major factors in mobile application development usability by OGD are data completeness, data format and support for developers by offering Application Programming Interface (API) and guides, majority of datasets were found to be complete an indication that UAE OGD has a strong point in data completeness. However, the current UAE OGD does not encourage the developers to build mobile applications because lack of data format support and missing of API and guides. Guidelines to improve the current UAE OGD have been proposed based on the results.
The civil society for a number of years has been pressing the government to produce machine readable presentations of the collected data. One of the greatest Open Government Data (OGD) goal was to aid developers come up with mobile application that can improve citizen’s live and in turn also enhance the country’s economy. Mobile applications forms a powerful channel to serve and reach businesses and citizens, hence the study aims at analyzing and evaluating the present UAE OGD usability for developing mobile applications that can be used to aid UAE through identification of current OGD weaknesses and the needed solution.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Research Problem
1.3 Research Questions and Objectives
1.4 Motivation and Importance of the Research
1.5 Organization of the Dissertation
2 Literature Review
2.1 Open Government Data
2.2 Open Government Data Internationally and in the UAE
2.2.1 The US OGD Portal
2.2.2 The UK OGD Portal
2.2.3 The UAE OGD Portal
2.3 Smartphones and Mobile Applications
2.4 Benefits of Mobile Applications for Open Government Data
2.5 The Status of Mobile Applications in the Context of Open Government Data
2.6 Factors that Support the Usability of Open Government Data within Mobile Application Development
2.6.1 Data Completeness
2.6.2 Data Accessibility
2.6.3 Data Utility
2.6.4 Data Format
2.6.5 Conclusions on Factors Supporting Usability
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Overview of the Assessment
3.2 Assessment Instrument
3.2.1 Section 1: Data Completeness
3.2.2 Section 2: Data Accessibility
3.2.3 Section 3: Data Utility
3.2.4 Section 4: Data Format
3.3 Dataset Sample and Selection
3.4 Pilot Study and Timeframe
3.5 Data Collection Method
4 Results
4.1 Data Completeness
4.2 Data Accessibility
4.2.1 Registration Required to Access the OGD Datasets
4.2.2 Terms and Conditions for Accessing and Reusing the OGD Datasets
4.2.3 The Application Programming Interface (API)
4.3 Data Utility
4.3.1 Location-Based Information
4.3.2 Consistency of Data Identifiers
4.3.3 Availability of Metadata
4.4 Data Format
5 Discussion
5.1 Major Findings
5.2 Recommendations and Guidelines to Improve UAE Open Government Data
6 Conclusions
6.1 Research Problem and Objectives
6.2 Limitations of the Research
6.3 Directions for Future Research
Research Goals and Objectives
The primary goal of this research is to analyze and evaluate the current usability of UAE Open Government Data (OGD) specifically in the context of mobile application development. The research investigates whether existing datasets meet the technical and accessibility requirements needed by developers to build mobile applications that can improve citizens' lives and contribute to the country's economic growth.
- Assessing the current status of UAE OGD usability.
- Identifying technical and procedural barriers for mobile app developers.
- Comparing UAE OGD practices with international benchmarks.
- Defining key usability factors (data completeness, format, API availability, etc.).
- Developing evidence-based recommendations for policy improvements.
Excerpt from the Book
2.6.4 Data Format
Providing data in open non-proprietary formats is one of the most important factors in publishing OGD for developers to use it (Fitzpatrick, 2012; Heath & Bizer, 2011; Jacobson et al., 2011; Klessmann et al., 2012; Lane, 2013; Open Knowledge Foundation, n.d.; Tauberer, 2012; Vosough, 2013). One of the important criteria of OGD data to ensure that it can be easily accessed and manipulated programmatically is that the data must be published in a machine-readable format (Open Knowledge Foundation, 2012). Data are machine-readable if they can be easily accessed by a computer and stored as a digital structure (Open Knowledge Foundation, 2012).
Fitzpatrick (2012) claims that publishing OGD in open non-proprietary formats prevents restriction of access of proprietary software, as well as allowing the distribution of data to a wider audience. He states that graphs, figures, and PDF files restrict the use of OGD data. Moreover, Lane (2013) argues that while PDFs are good for human reading, they cannot be processed by mobile applications. Tauberer (2012) argues that the data should use non-proprietary file formats. Moreover, he claims that the data format has a great impact on what type of applications can build on the data; open formats have lower barriers to using and decoding the data, even if the current software is no longer available. Tauberer (2012) says that OGD providers should avoid publishing scanned documents.
XML is one of the best data format to publish the data on; however, it is entirely how XML is written that determines whether the data will be machine-readable or not (Tauberer, 2012). The XML format does not in itself guarantee that the data can be easily processed by a software program (Tauberer, 2012). Moreover, Viedma (2010) finds that the XML data format is not suitable for mobile devices because it creates some complexity in processing and this affects the speed and the responsiveness of mobile application. Instead, he argues that JSON is the best data format for mobile applications to exchange data between different applications and systems. Providing data in JSON format is recommended for consuming data in mobile and web applications, and it is an important factor for OGD to be utilized within the mobile applications (Jacobson et al., 2011).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter introduces the global trend of OGD, the research problem concerning the UAE’s low portal usability, and the study's objective to support mobile application development.
2 Literature Review: This chapter explores international OGD initiatives, the importance of mobile applications, and identifies key usability factors such as data completeness, accessibility, utility, and format.
3 Research Methodology: This chapter details the assessment process, including the development of an assessment instrument and the selection process for the 144 assessed datasets.
4 Results: This chapter presents the data findings, showing that while completeness is adequate, the UAE lacks APIs, sufficient metadata, and structured data formats like JSON or clean XML.
5 Discussion: This chapter analyzes the findings, identifying critical barriers for developers and proposing specific guidelines for UAE government entities to improve data usability.
6 Conclusions: This chapter summarizes the research objectives, notes the limitations of the study, and suggests directions for future research in the field of OGD and mobile integration.
Keywords
Open Government Data, OGD, Open Data, OD, Mobile Application Development, Smartphone Mobile Applications, Usability Factors, Data Completeness, Data Accessibility, Data Utility, Data Format, API, JSON, XML, UAE.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research focuses on evaluating the usability of Open Government Data in the UAE specifically regarding its potential to be utilized in the development of mobile applications.
What are the primary themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include data completeness, accessibility, API availability, metadata standards, and the adoption of open, machine-readable data formats for mobile platforms.
What is the main objective of the thesis?
The objective is to identify weaknesses in the current UAE OGD implementation that hinder mobile application development and to provide actionable recommendations to improve this support.
Which methodology was employed for this study?
The researcher developed a custom assessment instrument based on literature-reviewed usability factors and applied it to a sample of 144 datasets across 19 UAE federal entities.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers a comprehensive literature review of OGD best practices, the description of the assessment instrument, the empirical results of the data analysis, and a discussion of proposed improvements.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Keywords include Open Government Data, Mobile Application Development, Usability Factors, Data Format, API, and UAE governmental digital strategy.
How does the lack of APIs affect UAE developers?
The absence of APIs forces developers to manually download, clean, and convert datasets, creating significant barriers that hinder the creation of automated and up-to-date mobile applications.
Why is the JSON format emphasized over other formats like PDF or Word?
JSON is emphasized because it is a lightweight, machine-readable, and structured format that is easily processed by mobile applications without the manual conversion efforts required for unstructured formats like PDF.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Essa Al Blooshi (Autor:in), 2014, Analysis of UAE Open Government Data Usability within Mobile Application Development, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/315213
