Local government web sites in Finland: A geographic and webometric analysis Kim Holmberg* & Mike Thelwall** * kim.holmberg@abo.fi Information Studies Ã…bo Akademi University, Finland ** m.thelwall@wlv.ac.uk School of Computing and Information Technology University of Wolverhampton, UK ISSI 25.6.2007 Madrid, Spain

Research Questions Does local government web site interlinking in Finland Proper follow geographic lines? Why do local government web sites in Finland Proper interlink?

Does local government web site interlinking in Finland Proper follow geographic lines?

Why do local government web sites in Finland Proper interlink?

Region of Finland Proper

Methods Data collection with a web crawler Data modelling with Site ADM ïƒ binary data matrix (1 = link, 0 = no link) Visualization with Kamada-Kawai Geographic testing ïƒ QAP Interlinking A B

Data collection with a web crawler

Data modelling with Site ADM ïƒ binary data matrix (1 = link, 0 = no link)

Visualization with Kamada-Kawai

Geographic testing ïƒ QAP

Interlinking

Interlinking, Kamada-Kawai

Based on full geographic map

1. Does local government web site interlinking in Finland Proper follow geographic lines? Statistical test between interlinking and geography Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) ïƒ p = 0.000

Statistical test between interlinking and geography

Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP)

ïƒ p = 0.000

2. Why do local government web sites in Finland Proper interlink? Type of links - type of information associated with the links and the context they are created in Purpose of links - what purpose the links fulfil by connecting the two documents - Categorization of 337 links / link types

Type of links

- type of information associated with the links and the context they are created in

Purpose of links

- what purpose the links fulfil by connecting the two documents

- Categorization of 337 links / link types

Motivation for linking

Conclusions Does local government web site interlinking in Finland Proper follow geographic lines? - Yes, QAP confirms this Why do local government web sites in Finland Proper interlink? - Because of official cooperation that geographic closeness has made possible

Does local government web site interlinking in Finland Proper follow geographic lines?

- Yes, QAP confirms this

Why do local government web sites in Finland Proper interlink?

- Because of official cooperation that geographic closeness has made possible

Thank you!