From open government to open government data: a bibliometric view

Many countries have promoted open government initiatives for greater transparency, inclusiveness, responsiveness, and effectiveness, leading many researchers to expand their research to different areas over the last decade. This requires a systematic review of the literature to determine the detailed status of open government research. This study takes a bibliometric perspective to identify 560 publications from the Web of Science and Scopus databases published between 1977 and 2021. The results reveal that current research focuses on open government data, digital government, and civic engagement, and that the scientific knowledge base is formed by studies centred on open government data. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the scientific literature on open government to serve as a guide for researchers who wish to understand the intellectual and social structure of this field of research.