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Usage statistics in context - panel discussion on understanding usage, measuring success

Usage statistics in context - panel discussion on understanding usage, measuring success. Peter Shepherd Project Director COUNTER AAP/PSP 9 February 2005. Background. Understanding usage Different approaches Role of usage statistics Usage statistics Should enlighten rather than obscure

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Usage statistics in context - panel discussion on understanding usage, measuring success

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  1. Usage statistics in context-panel discussion on understanding usage, measuring success Peter Shepherd Project Director COUNTER AAP/PSP 9 February 2005

  2. Background • Understanding usage • Different approaches • Role of usage statistics • Usage statistics • Should enlighten rather than obscure • Should be practical • Should be reliable • Are only part of the story • Should be used in context • How can usage statistics help us measure… • Success? • Value? • Behaviour?

  3. Why COUNTER? • Goal: credible, compatible, consistent publisher/vendor-generated statistics for the global information community • Libraries and consortia need online usage statistics • To assess the value of different online products/services • To support collection development • To plan infrastructure • Publishers need online usage statistics • To experiment with new pricing models • To assess the relative importance of the different channels by which information reaches the market • To provide editorial support • To plan infrastructure

  4. COUNTER: strategy • Respond to the requirements of the international librarian, publisher and intermediary communities • An open, inclusive and interactive process • Representation of all three communities on COUNTER • Limit scope of Release 1 to journals and databases • Systematically extend scope of the Code of Practice • Horizontally, to cover other content types, such as e-books • Vertically, to provide more detailed statistics on journals • A cost effective-process for all parties involved

  5. COUNTERCodes of Practice • Definitions of terms used • Specifications for Usage Reports • Data processing guidelines • Auditing • Compliance • Maintenance and development of the Code of Practice • Governance of COUNTER

  6. COUNTER: Status • Journals and databases • Code of Practice launched in January 2003 • Release 2 will be published in April 2005 • 60%+ of Science Citation Index articles now covered • A widely adopted standard by publishers and librarians • Librarians use in collection development decisions • Publishers use in marketing to prove ‘value’ • Now being used to develop other metrics and monitor trends • Books and reference works • Draft Code of Practice launched in February 2005 • Relevant usage metrics less clear than for journals • Different issues than for journals • Direct comparisons between books less relevant • Understanding how different categories of book are used is more relevant

  7. Core COUNTER metrics • Requests for specified content units • Journals: full-text articles • Article-level reporting? • Books: whole title; sections within title (Chapter, entry) • Searches • Sessions • Turnaways • Simultaneous user licences

  8. COUNTER: an application • JISC (UK Joint Information Systems Committee) • Funded by UK higher education funding councils • Supports higher education in the use of information and communications technologies • Access to information and communication resources • Advice on creation and preservation of digital archives • Implications of using ICT • Network services and support • Research to develop innovative solutions • National overview of online journal usage • Develop a reliable, widely applicable methodology • Use COUNTER Journal Report 1 ‘article full-text requests’

  9. JISC Project • COUNTER data was analysed in relation to: • usage range • Price band • Subject category • Metrics derived from this analysis • Trend in number of full-text article requests • Full text article requests per title • Full text article requests per publisher package • Full text article requests per FTE user • Most requested titles • Usage of subscribed vs.. unsubscribed titles • Cost per full-text article request • Cost per FTE user

  10. Understanding usage • Usage statistics are an important tool • If reliable • If widely implemented by publishers • If widely adopted by customers • A useful check on other approaches • Interviews • Focus groups • Case studies • User surveys • Publisher • Library

  11. What do usage statistics tell us about… • Success? • Value? • Behaviour?

  12. Usage statistics: measuring success • Impact Factor? • Widely used as a measure of ‘success’ for a journal • But… • Citation habits vary across different scientific fields • Citation patterns depend on journal type • Citation levels can be ‘managed’. • Usage Factor? • An alternative measure • Relevant in applied fields, where citation levels are lower • But…. • Requires open-ness from publishers about usage data • Requires universal adoption of the same standards

  13. Usage statistics: measuring value • JISC Project has identified some basic metrics derived from COUNTER data • Trend in number of full-text article requests • Full text article requests per title • Full text article requests per publisher package • Full text article requests per FTE user • Usage of subscribed vs. unsubscribed titles • Cost per full-text article request • Differences between subject fields • But…. • Limited to data from COUNTER-compliant vendors • Does not distinguish between different types of usage

  14. Usage statistics: measuring behaviour • Usage of different components of the journal • TOC, abstract, full-text, references • Variations between fields • Physics, medicine • Variations between institutes • Academic • Teaching, research, etc • Between departments • Industrial • But…

  15. Conclusions • Usage statistics are one indicator of usage, success and value, provided that…. • They are reliable • Universal standards are adopted • Online products are structured to allow reporting of usage statistics at different levels • But… • They should not be over-complicated or over-interpreted • They should be used in context with market research • Both publishers and librarians are going to have to organize themselves to generate and handle usage statistics

  16. COUNTER Membership • Member Categories and Annual Fees (2005) • Publishers/intermediaries: $750 • Library Consortia: $500 • Libraries: $375 • Industry organization: $375 • Library affiliate: $150 (non-voting member) • Benefits of full membership • Owner of COUNTER with voting rights at annual general meeting, etc. • Regular bulletins on progress • Opportunity to receive advice on implementation

  17. For more information………. http://www.projectcounter.org Thank you! Peter Shepherd (Project Director) pshepherd@projectCounter.org

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