Search results

1 – 10 of over 110000
Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

David Nicholas, Paul Huntington, Hamid R. Jamali and Carol Tenopir

This article presents the early findings of an exploratory deep log analysis of journal usage on OhioLINK, conducted as part of the MaxData project funded by the US Institute of…

1189

Abstract

Purpose

This article presents the early findings of an exploratory deep log analysis of journal usage on OhioLINK, conducted as part of the MaxData project funded by the US Institute of Museum and Library Services. OhioLINK, the original “big deal”, provides a single digital platform of nearly 6,000 full‐text journal for more than 600,000 people in the state of Ohio. The purpose of the paper is not only to present findings from the deep log analysis of journal usage on OhioLINK, but, arguably more importantly, to try test a new method of analysing online information user behaviour – deep log analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

The raw server logs were obtained for the period June 2004 to December 2004. For this exploratory study one month (October) of the on‐campus usage logs and seven months of the off‐campus transaction logs were analysed.

Findings

During this period approximately 1,215,000 items were viewed on campus in October 2004 and 1,894,000 items viewed off campus between June and December 2004. The paper presents a number of usage analyses including: number of journals used, titles of journals used, use over time, a returnee analysis and a special analysis of subject, date and method of access.

Practical implications

The research findings help libraries evaluate the efficiency of big deal and one‐stop shopping for scholarly journals and also investigate their users' information seeking behaviours.

Originality/value

The research is a part of efforts to test the applications of a new methodology, deep log analysis, for use and user studies. It also represents the most substantial independent analysis of, possibly, the most important and significant of the journal big deals ever conducted.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 62 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2005

David Nicholas, Paul Huntington and Anthony Watkinson

To present the latest results of research conducted at University College London as part of the Virtual Scholar Research Programme, investigating the impact of the digital…

2470

Abstract

Purpose

To present the latest results of research conducted at University College London as part of the Virtual Scholar Research Programme, investigating the impact of the digital roll‐out of information services to academics and researchers. This is the second study to look at the information seeking behaviour of academics and researchers in regard to digital journal libraries, and concentrates on the users and usage of Blackwell Synergy.

Design/methodology/approach

Nearly a million users making ten million item requests were investigated employing deep log methods, developed by the authors to provide robust and big picture analyses of digital information consumers and their behaviour.

Findings

Usage data has been embellished with user data (for 500,000 people), so enabling comparisons to be made between the information seeking behaviour, for instance, of students and staff, academics and practitioners, scientists and social scientists. We believe this is the first time this type of analysis has been attempted with logs. Of particular note is the “repeat visitor” evaluation and the analysis of one and a quarter million search sessions which categorised sessions in terms of how “busy” they were for a whole range of user groups.

Research limitations/implications

Demonstrates a powerful and new method, deep log analysis, for mapping and evaluating information seeking behaviour.

Practical implications

Important data for publishers to enable them to target their services more effectively

Originality/value

Probably the first analysis of its type, hence showing an aspect of information seeking not previously seen.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 61 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 November 2014

Midge Coates

– The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing user selection of individual works in a collection of digitized sheet music.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing user selection of individual works in a collection of digitized sheet music.

Design/methodology/approach

Google Analytics page view data were grouped by source (directing link) and correlated with five factors: inclusion in a collaborative indexing project (Sheet Music Consortium); browse list order; cover appearance; inclusion in mini-collections; and presence of links to audio versions.

Findings

Four of the five factors examined showed some influence on user selection: Works listed in the Sheet Music Consortium had more views/work than those not listed; Works at the top of the Sheet Music Consortium browse list had more views by Consortium users than those lower down; Works with cover graphics had more views/work than those with covers containing words alone; Works included in mini-collections received more views/work from users with access to those mini-collections; Works with links to audio versions did not have more views/work than works without links.

Practical implications

The most important finding of this study is that the best way to increase the use of individual collection items may be to participate in a large and well-known collaborative index such as the Sheet Music Consortium.

Originality/value

This is the first study using Google Analytics to examine factors influencing user selection of individual digital collection items.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 32 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2005

Rajugan Rajagopalapillai, William Gardner, Elizabeth Chang and Tharam S. Dillon

Today, eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is fast emerging as the dominant standard for storing, describing, representing and interchanging data among various enterprises systems…

Abstract

Today, eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is fast emerging as the dominant standard for storing, describing, representing and interchanging data among various enterprises systems and databases in the context of complex web enterprises information systems (EIS). Conversely, for web EIS (such as ecommerce and portals) to be successful, it is important to apply a high level, model driven solutions and meta‐data vocabularies to design and implementation techniques that are capable of handling heterogonous schemas and documents. For this, we need a methodology that provides a higher level of abstraction of the domain in question with rigorously defined standards that are to be more widely understood by all stakeholders of the system. To‐date, UML has proven itself as the language of choice for modeling EIS using OO techniques. With the introduction of XML Schema, which provides rich facilities for constraining and defining enterprise XML content, the combination of UML and XML technologies provide a good platform (and the flexibility) for modeling, designing and representing complex enterprise contents for building successful EIS. In this paper, we show how a layered view model coupled with a proven user interface analysis framework (WUiAM) is utilized in providing architectural construct and abstract website model (called eXtensible Web, xWeb), to model, design and implement simple, usercentred, collaborative websites at varying levels of abstraction. The uniqueness xWeb is that the model data (web user interface definitions, website data descriptions and constraints) and the web content are captured and represented at the conceptual level using views (one model) and can be deployed (multiple platform specific models) using one or more implementation models.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2003

David Nicholas, Paul Huntington and Anthony Watkinson

Evaluates, through deep log analysis, the impact of “Big Deal” agreements on the online searching behaviour of users of the Emerald digital library Web site, which provides…

1908

Abstract

Evaluates, through deep log analysis, the impact of “Big Deal” agreements on the online searching behaviour of users of the Emerald digital library Web site, which provides access to more than 150 journals in the fields of business and information science. The purpose of the evaluation was to map the online information seeking behaviour of the digital library user and to see whether those signed‐up to a Big Deal arrangement behaved any differently from the others. In general they did. The real surprise proved to be the strong consumer traits of the library’s users. Research reported here refers to the first stage of a three‐stage research project.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 55 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 February 2023

Jiangnan Qiu, Wenjing Gu, Zhongming Ma, Yue You, Chengjie Cai and Meihui Zhang

In the extant research on online knowledge communities (OKCs), little attention has been paid to the influence of membership fluidity on the coevolution of the social and…

Abstract

Purpose

In the extant research on online knowledge communities (OKCs), little attention has been paid to the influence of membership fluidity on the coevolution of the social and knowledge systems. This article aims to fill this gap.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) framework, this paper constructs a simulation model to study the coevolution of these two systems under different levels of membership fluidity.

Findings

By analyzing the evolution of these systems with the vector autoregression (VAR) method, we find that social and knowledge systems become more orderly as the coevolution progresses. Furthermore, in communities with low membership fluidity, the microlevel of the social system (i.e. users) drives the coevolution, whereas in communities with high membership fluidity, the microlevel of the knowledge system (i.e. users' views) drives the coevolution.

Originality/value

This paper extends the application of the ASA framework and enriches the literature on membership fluidity of online communities and the literature on driving factors for coevolution of the social and knowledge systems in OKCs. On a practical level, our work suggests that community administrators should adopt different strategies for different membership fluidity to efficiently promote the coevolution of the social and knowledge systems in OKCs.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 March 2007

Angel Borrego and Cristóbal Urbano

The purpose of this research is to analyse the behaviour of the users of a package of electronic journals using the data of consumption per IP address.

1364

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to analyse the behaviour of the users of a package of electronic journals using the data of consumption per IP address.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper analyses the data of consumption at the University of Barcelona of 31 electronic journals of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in 2003. Data of sessions, articles downloaded and abstracts viewed were analysed.

Findings

Most of the consumption was concentrated at a few IP addresses, and most of the users made little use of the information available. There was found to be a greater dispersion of the consumption of electronic information than of information on paper. Finally, it was determined that the number of abstracts viewed is a good predictor of the number of regular users of a journal.

Originality/value

The paper offers new data on behaviour in the consumption of electronic information and presents a method for determining the number of regular users of a journal from the number of articles viewed.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 63 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Mildred Coates

The purpose of this paper is to examine two research questions: first, How do users in different locations find Auburn University Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine two research questions: first, How do users in different locations find Auburn University Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)? Second, do users in different locations interact differently with the collection and, if so, how?

Design/methodology/approach

Google Analytics data for user visits, landing pages, and page views were separated into groups based on user location. Visits data were also correlated with source (referring web site), and landing pages and page views were grouped by type.

Findings

Most local users came to the repository via Auburn University web pages. This group usually landed on the collection home page and used internal navigation pages to find what they needed. Submission page views showed that most ETD depositors were local. Most out-of-state users came to the repository via web search engines. This group usually landed directly on bibliographic information pages for individual ETDs. They used internal navigation pages less frequently than local users. Users located within the state but outside of the local area interacted with the collection in a way that was intermediate between these two groups.

Practical implications

Institutions interested in improving repository access for depositors will probably find it helpful to focus on in-state usage reports, while institutions seeking to improve access for end-users should exclude in-state users from their assessments.

Originality/value

This is the first detailed examination of ETDs usage published since 2001 and shows how filtering tools available in Google Analytics allow comparisons of user behavior based on location and source (referring web site).

Details

Library Hi Tech, vol. 32 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0737-8831

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 February 2008

David Nicholas, Paul Huntington and Hamid R. Jamali

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a novel form of deep log analysis by linking questionnaire data with transactional server log data generated by the same users; and to…

1754

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a novel form of deep log analysis by linking questionnaire data with transactional server log data generated by the same users; and to provide a richer understanding of the information‐seeking behaviour of a strategic community of virtual scholars.

Design/methodology/approach

Usage statistics were obtained from logs for an 18‐month period: 16,865 sessions were covered and 110,029 pages were viewed. Searching behaviour was studied in regard to number of returned hits and number of searches in a session. A questionnaire survey was also conducted to identify ScienceDirect users according to the subject/discipline to which they belonged and attitude towards some scholarly communication issues. The answers of more than 750 ScienceDirect users to the questionnaire were linked to the usage logs of the same users through matching internet protocol (IP) addresses.

Findings

The study reveals large differences between scholars in different subjects in terms of information‐seeking behaviour and their interaction with electronic journal systems.

Practical implications

The findings can be utilised to improve electronic journal systems such as ScienceDirect in order to provide more suitable service for users in different subjects.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies in its methodology that links questionnaire attitudinal data to the web log data of the same users at individual level to gain a better understanding of users' behaviour.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 October 2007

David Nicholas, Paul Huntington and Hamid R. Jamali

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact on usage of the journal Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) moving to an open access model. A major objective was to examine the…

1408

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to examine the impact on usage of the journal Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) moving to an open access model. A major objective was to examine the impact of open access in the context of other initiatives that have improved accessibility to scholarly journals. The study also aims to demonstrate the potential of deep log analysis for monitoring change in usage over time.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from the logs for the period 2003‐June 2005 and analysed using deep log methods. The data were analysed to provide the following information on use: type of item viewed; usage over time; usage for individual journal issues; usage per type of article; age of article. Usage analyses were further examined with regard to the following user characteristics: subscriber/non‐subscriber; referrer link employed, organisational affiliation; geographical location.

Findings

The analysis showed that the rise in use of NAR over the survey period (140 per cent) could largely be attributed to the opening up of the site to search engines and that the move to OA had a relatively small influence on driving usage up further (less than 10 per cent).

Originality/value

The study for the first time thoroughly analyses the usage data of a significant experimental open access journal and reveals the huge impact of search engines on driving up usage.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 63 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 110000