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This book focuses on the effects of information policy. While information policy studies often consider the ideology underlying policy, the policy process, the stakeholders and players in that process, and the nature of the outcomes of policy development, there have been few studies that focus on the ultimate effects of information policy. This book looks at effects from two perspectives. First, it examines the impact of government-wide information policies on a specific government agency in terms of its dissemination policies for the information it provides. Secondly, the effects of the ensuing agency information policies on social science research are examined.
The government-wide policies of interest here are cost-recovery and restraint initiatives imposed by the Canadian federal government in the mid-1980s. The policy statements specifically identified government information as an area in which increased revenues could be generated. Such de facto information policies can have a wide effect on government information production and dissemination. In this book, the history and background of the policies is considered and the effects were empirically examined using multiple methods of analysis. The period covered is mid-1980s through mid-1990s. An epilogue chapter provides information on recent policy developments in Canada and the continuing effects of the policies of the 1980s.
List of contents
Background and MethodInvestigating Information Policy Effects
Methodology
Information PolicyInformation Policy: A Literature Review
Canadian Government Information Policy
Policy Effects on a Government Agency Statistics: Canada's Response to the Cost-Recovery and Restraint Initiatives
Determining Effects on UsersUser Studies of Social Scientists and Statistics
Findings on Social Science and Their General Use of Statistics
Findings on Use of Statistics Canada and Other Statistics Sources
Effects of Information Policy on Users
What We Know NowSummarizing Findings and Drawing Conclusions
Epilogue: How Statistics Canada has responded to.
Appendix
References
About the author
KIRSTI NILSEN is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Univeristy of Western Ontario./e
