Selection of Papers
This paper is based on a systematic literature survey of papers published within the period between 2005 and 2009. As figure 1 shows, in order to make the research process rigorous, thus increasing the validity of the study, Webster and Watson (2002) guidelines for literature review and Grönlund and Andersson (2006) guidelines for paper selection and analysis have been adopted. According to Webster and Watson (2002, p. 4), “the major contributions are likely to be in the leading journals. It makes sense, therefore, to start with them. ..… You should also examine selected conference proceedings, especially those with a reputation for quality”. In order to find the leading journals, the guidelines of AIS’s ‘Senior Scholars' Basket of Journals, as listed in Figure 1 had been explored. This search method also helped to frame the boundary of the literature review and to limit the content of the analysis.
Figure 1. The Information source selection model
Furthermore, other relevant journals within the e-services field (See Figure 1) were also selected. Being e-services a relatively young field of research, it was assumed that newer journals within the field contained also relevant and interesting research. Finally for identifying the conferences related to e-government, Grönlund and Andersson’s (2006) suggestions have been mostly followed (See Figure 1), but also some other relevant conferences have been included.