Comparative Scientometric Analysis in Social Media: What Can We Learn? And What Is Next? - Information and Communication Technologies in Public Administration - page 116

table 5.9 (Continued) Research Findings

Research Questions Main Conclusions

RQ5. Differences
among American,
European, and Asian
countries

Case study and content analysis are the most widely
qualitative methodology used in the United States
and Europe, and regression analysis as quantitative
methodology.
Case study and social network analysis are the most
frequently methodologies used in Asian countries, and
clear tendency in the use of a quantitative methodology
is not shown.
Public services, disclosure information, and electronic
participation are the main research topics analyzed in
the United States and Europe.
Electronic participation is the main research topic
analyzed in Asian countries.

Source: Own elaboration.

of these applications (RQ2). According to these papers, public administrations have
implemented the most widely used social media applications, such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and LinkedIn, mainly for political purposes and for reduc-
ing inequalities, enhancing democracy, and increasing participation (RQ2). In addi-
tion, the use of these social media applications by all levels of public administrations
has been homogeneous, which means that governments have tried to reach a wider
range of stakeholders because these social media have been indicated as those with a
higher number of users (Meijer, Grimmellikhuijsen, & Brandsma 2012).
Nonetheless, the research about social media implementation and, similarly,
their use in public administrations has not been the same in all fields of knowl-
edge (RQ1) or in the journals in which they are published (RQ3). Indeed, whereas
electronic participation has been the main research theme published in the
Communication and Information Science fields of knowledge, mainly in the jour-
nals Government Information Quarterly and Social Science Computer Review , the
delivery of public services is increasingly being the key theme in the public admin-
istration area (no preference for publishing in a particular journal in this field
exists). This result highlights the different perspectives of the fields of knowledge
analyzed in this chapter and reflects the concerns of social media in its implementa-
tion in public administrations. In fact, results indicate that electronic participation
has been the first concern of public administrations in implementing these new
technologies. It seems that governments have tried to take advantage of Web 2.0
technologies as other channels for a wider representation of the government actions
or the elected political party into the Internet. Therefore, public administrations
have embraced social media as a means of representation in both political activities
and public actions (RQ2).