Theoretical support for social media research. A scientometric analysis

Abstract

We seek to analyze the research into the field of social media implementation in public administrations, examining the theories that support the use of social media, the main use of this technology for public administrations and the trends and research innovations in this area in the future. In addition, a comparative study will be performed in order to identify differences of research, research gaps and interest on the different domains of this topic into different contexts. To achieve the aims, the scientometric methodology will be applied to a sample of papers published in journals listed in the fields of Public Administration, Information Sciences and Communication. In this sense, the research about social media has not been the same in all areas. Knowledge gaps and research opportunities are identified from these observations, which reveal changes in the research methods applied, reinforcing the development of a theoretical framework so that the application of social media may efficiently contribute to improving management in the public sector.