A Qualitative Study of Researchers Perspective on the Use and Risks of Open Government Data

Open government data has the potential to improve transparency, accountability, public participation, business innovation, and research quality. However, this openness also poses various opportunities for losses or even risks, especially related to low data quality, personal data security issues, data translation errors, and misuse of information. This study aims to review the potential risks of data openness on government data portals from the perspective of researchers as one of the important actors who use data. Using qualitative method with structured interviews, this study involved five potential researchers who actively used open data between May and August 2023. The results of the interviews showed that high data quality, such as accuracy, completeness, and currency, can increase researchers' trust in the data. At the same time, obstacles in accessibility and bureaucracy or data administration requirements can slow down the research process or stages. Security and privacy issues are also important parameters, with strict security policies and good audit processes can reduce the risk of data misuse. Data openness and transparency play a major role in increasing the use of data for public policy and evidence-based research. In addition, data standardization is essential to ensure the efficiency of data use by researchers. This study concludes that to optimize the benefits of data openness, there needs to be proper and measurable management in order to consider data quality, accessibility, security, and standardization.