The context

View the most recent version.

Introduction
The Government On-Line initiative
The digital divide, self-efficacy and Internet use

Introduction

In the little more than a decade since it was launched commercially, the Internet has dramatically changed the way many Canadians conduct their everyday activities, from viewing weather, news and sports, to banking and paying bills. Canadians are now going online for a wide variety of activities, including searching for information on topics ranging from genealogy to health care. The Internet has also become an important channel for Canadians to connect with their government. For instance, more than 2 million dwellings responded to the 2006 Census via the Internet, representing almost 20% of the initial response (Statistics Canada 2007). In addition, over 50% of Canadian tax filers used the Internet to file their 2005 federal income tax, either directly or indirectly through a tax preparation service (Canada Revenue Agency 2006).

To date, very little is known about the characteristics of government online users in Canada; however some American research provides a starting point. Thomas and Streib (2003) suggest that citizen-initiated contacts with governments via the Internet in general are likely to be motivated by specific needs, and engaged in by individuals with higher socio-economic status. Chen and Dimitrova (2006) on the other hand, found that demographic characteristics had only limited influence on citizens' involvement in online civic activities, whereas other factors such as perceived personal benefit and political involvement exerted a greater influence on citizen engagement with government online.¹

Using data from the 2005 Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS), this study examines patterns of Internet use related to accessing government information and services online. It begins by describing the Canadian Government On-Line (GOL) initiative and briefly reviews previous research in this area. A typology of Internet users is then created to investigate how those who access government information and services online differ from those who do not in terms of their Internet use behaviour in general; for example, e-commerce, number of activities, length of time online, frequency of use, and intensity of use. The reasons adult Canadians are not using the Internet to search for government information, and concerns about Internet privacy or security, are also discussed. Finally, a multivariate logistic regression model helps to disentangle the various factors influencing the use of the Internet for government online activities.

The Government On-Line initiative

Launched in 1999 and formally completed in 2006, the Government On-Line initiative was a key part of the Government of Canada's service delivery strategy of organizing services and information around the needs and expectations of Canadians, businesses and international clients. As a result of the GOL initiative, 130 of the most commonly used services have been available online since 2005. According to the 2006 Government On-Line report,² interactions with the Government of Canada went from approximately 470 million in 2001, to almost 1.1 billion in 2005, with online transactions accounting for 30% of all transactions. In addition, 71% of Internet users had visited a Government of Canada Web site during the previous twelve-month period.

Through GOL, a 'whole of government' approach was adopted in order to make the entire range of government services accessible, regardless of the channel being used (telephone, in-person, mail or Internet), or the department, agency or level of government that is responsible for provision of the service. Service Canada³ is the Government of Canada's one-stop service delivery network, providing different modes of access, in conjunction with other departments and levels of governments, to a wide range of programs and services.

Canada is recognized as a world leader in e-government, as indicated by consistently high ratings in various international surveys and benchmarking studies. For example, Canada has been ranked in the top ten and often in the top two countries with respect to e-government assessments (Government of Canada 2006). With the GOL initiative now complete and many government services available to Canadians online, it is useful to analyze GOL with respect to the following questions: Who is the typical GOL user? In which activities are they engaged? For what purposes are they accessing government information? How frequently do they access government online services? Where do they reside? And for those who are online, but not accessing government services, why not? The answers to these questions will help to shed light on how government service delivery may evolve in the future.

The digital divide, self-efficacy and Internet use

The digital divide is commonly understood as the gap between information and communications technology (ICT) - notably the Internet -  'haves' and 'have nots'. Likely correlates of this divide, such as education, gender, income and location, have been widely investigated (Sciadas 2002; OECD 2001; Fong, Wellman, Kew and Wilkes 2001). Now that Internet use within Canada has become more ubiquitous, the research focus is moving away from the factors influencing the divide, to the factors influencing the intensity and type of use among those who are already online. Hargittai (2003) and others (Lenhart et al. 2003; Montagnier and Vickery 2007) have suggested the existence of a 'second-level' digital divide among those who are already connected to and using the Internet. Among other factors, Hargittai (2003, p. 2) suggests that individual skill level - "the ability to efficiently and effectively find information on the Web" - may be an important factor in discriminating between individuals along this second divide.

Along the same lines, Internet self-efficacy - the belief in, or judgment of, one's ability to accomplish certain tasks online, such as finding information, or troubleshooting problems - has been suggested by Eastin and LaRose (2000) as an essential characteristic for novice users. For example, the use of the Internet requires a specific set of skills, such as establishing and maintaining a connection, and learning how to navigate and search for relevant information on the Web. Whether or not these skills are developed depends to a great extent on individual self-efficacy; that is, whether or not individuals believe they can successfully perform activities that are required for effective use of the Internet (Eastin and LaRose 2000).

One factor that has been found to be significantly related to Internet self-efficacy is previous Internet experience, which is also related to length of time spent using the Internet; for example, Eastin and LaRose (2000) have suggested that up to two years' experience may be required to achieve an ideal level of Internet self-efficacy. Access to a computer with an Internet connection in and of itself may not be sufficient to ensure usage, since psychological barriers may continue to hinder successful Internet interaction for some individuals (Eastin and LaRose 2000). Others have also argued that merely having access to an Internet-linked device does not equate with regular and effective use of the Internet (Chen and Wellman 2004).

Based on these findings, this study examines whether similar factors play a role; for example, whether having achieved a level of 'Internet comfort' is closely related to the use of the Internet for government online activities. For the purposes of this study, the number of online activities is used as a proxy for this level of comfort, since it is likely that individuals who engage in more online activities have reached or surpassed this 'comfort threshold', and in turn may be more likely to engage in other online behaviours requiring a certain level of Internet comfort. It is further hypothesized that GOL users are a relatively homogenous and sophisticated group of Internet users, who have reached this comfort level with the Internet, or, to use Eastin and LaRose's (2000) conceptualization, have achieved a certain level of self-efficacy, which then leads to usage of the Internet for a wider range of activities.

Although the CIUS was not designed to investigate attitudes or motivations for use or non-use of the Internet, it does track prior Internet use, as well as frequency and intensity of use. For example, respondents were asked whether or not they had ever used the Internet and those who answered "yes" were then asked to report for how many years they had been using it. In addition, individuals who used the Internet within the previous twelve-month period were asked how often they used the Internet within a typical month, and how many hours in a typical week they spent online. Responses to these questions are examined in this study to determine how GOL users differ from other Internet users.

---

Notes

1. The study conducted by Chen and Dimitrova (2006) had an important limitation: a small sample size that was restricted to Internet users who had participated in an online survey, which introduces a potential bias since non-respondents may have differed significantly from respondents.

2. See www.gol-ged.gc.ca/rpt2006/rpt/rpt00_e.asp.

3. See www.servicecanada.gc.ca.