Access to Information and Freedom of Information Requests: Neglected Means of Data Production in the Social Sciences

Autor/inn/en	Walby, Kevin; Larsen, Mike
Titel	Access to Information and Freedom of Information Requests: Neglected Means of Data Production in the Social Sciences
Quelle	In: Qualitative Inquiry, 18 (2012) 1, S.31-42 (12 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1077-8004
DOI	10.1177/1077800411427844
Schlagwörter	Qualitative Research; Freedom; Access to Information; Discourse Analysis; Interviews; Public Agencies; Government Publications; Government (Administrative Body); Information Policy; Information Services; Investigations; Civil Rights Legislation; Inquiry; Information Seeking; Questioning Techniques; Disclosure; Social Sciences + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Qualitative Forschung; Freiheit; Diskursanalyse; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Öffentliche Einrichtung; Government; Regierung; Informationspolitik; Informationstätigkeit; Untersuchung; Private law; Bürgerliches Recht; Informationserschließung; Befragungstechnik; Fragetechnik; Social science; Sozialwissenschaften; Gesellschaftswissenschaften
Abstract	Access to information (ATI) and freedom of information (FOI) mechanisms are now relevant features of governments in many liberal democracies today. Citizens, organizations, and permanent residents in several countries across the globe can request unpublished information from federal, provincial, state, county, and municipal government agencies. However, most qualitative researchers appear to be unfamiliar with ATI/FOI or write it off as an approach used by journalists rather than as a way to systematically produce qualitative and longitudinal data about government practices. In this article, the authors discuss the use of ATI/FOI requests as a means of data production. The authors show how the use of ATI/FOI requests intersects with issues such as reflexivity, the Hawthorne effect, interviewing, and discourse analysis. The study objective is to foster a multidisciplinary discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of ATI/FOI requests as a data production tool. (Contains 5 notes.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10