1 How reliable user statistics are about to transform our profession David Goodman [email protected] Palmer School of Library & Information Science Long Island University and Princeton University Library InfoToday New York May 7, 2003
Mar 27, 2015
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How reliable user statistics are about to
transform our profession
David Goodman [email protected]
Palmer School of Library & Information ScienceLong Island University
andPrinceton University Library
InfoToday New York May 7, 2003
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Some of this is work in progress
These are preliminary results, with only partial data
& incomplete analysis;please do not cite the numbers,
if any.
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USES OF STATISTICS
1. Intelligent purchasing
• What to subscribe to
• What to buy per-item
• What to get on demand
• What not to get at all
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USES OF STATISTICS
2. Knowledge of users
• Planning the collection
• Planning services
• Planning instruction
• Planning access
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USES OF STATISTICS3. Inter-institutional
• Understanding ones' own library
• Comparative data for local advocacy
• Joint advocacy
• Cooperation with publishers
• Development of alternatives
• alternative payment basis
• alternative distribution
• alternative publication
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Statistics (at present) use by publisher/distributor
(use by title)(use by time period)
(use by IP)all
not standardizednot comparablenot analyzable? trustworthy
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COUNTER Code of Practice, Release 1:
Definitions of terms used Specifications for Usage Reports Data processing guidelines Auditing Compliance Compatable superset of IOCLC
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COUNTER Sponsors & Endorsers (partial list)
AAP/PSP AIP ALPSP ARL ASA Blackwell Publishing BMJ Publishing Group EBSCO Elsevier Ingenta IOPP ISI JSTOR
Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Nature Publishing Group New England J. of Medicine NCLIS NISO OCLC Oxford University Press The Publishers Association ProQuest Taylor & Francis Group STM Swets Blackwell UKSG
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COUNTER RELEASE I: 2003/4Journal and Database use by publisher
by title by time period
(by IP) if wantedALL
standardizedcomparabletrustworthy(analyzable)
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COUNTER RELEASE II(2005, probably)
Use, by page type (html, pdf)
Use, by time period published
Use, by access route
extensions for e-books, reference works, other media, servers, ...
xml driven analysis
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COUNTER RELEASE II(2005, possibly)
Use, by journal section
Use, by individual article
Use, by previous link followed
Use, by special features are used(use, by manner of use --
printed, saved, emailed)
Interfaces with linking programs
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(additional capacities)
correlations between journal & database use use & publication
use & citation
capability for unintrusive individual analysis (with permission)
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Princeton Citations
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000
number of titles .
95/20
80/5
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Range of journals usedVery intensive use of an exceptionally limited number of
journals Much lighter occasional use of an
essentially unlimited range of journalsnote: most studies elsewhere show
smaller differences.Alternative interpretations:>Princeton people concentrate
on their real work>Princeton people show
little intellectual curiosity
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Use vs. Citation vs. I.F. Electronic use, Print use,
Articles cited, Articles published All show similar results Predictable differences:
Non-research titles Preliminary publication
Relation to Impact Factor varies Depends on academic program
Local knowledge is needed to interpret data
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Effect of quality/relevance Central fields: low quality journals show very little use Peripheral fields: less effect of quality Variation with time
Major titles in central fields: little variation between years
Minor titles in central fields: considerable variation between years
All titles in peripheral fields: Great variation between years
note: some other studies show less effect of quality or relevance.
Does it depend on academic level?
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Electronic vs. Print Almost all fields strongly prefer electronic
current issues & earlier years
Some fields still use print almost equally organic chemistry
Some fields never use print molecular biology
Use of E-print servers where availablevery high, but use of corresponding journal titles remains substantial.
Increased electronic use in past year; but same patterns!
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Some Electronic vs. Bound & Unbound Print Data
Average monthly use (Princeton)
Title Electronic PrintBd
PrintUnbd
Science 19012 12 35
J. biological chem. 1365 10 0.3
J. virology 758 6 0.0
J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 866 259 7.5
J. organic chem. 144 163 1.4
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Use of Print holdings
Little actual use Exception: main awareness journals
Major remaining deficiency of electronic: Scanning and current awareness
Continuing present need for print: Archiving Critical developing problem with
electronic-only: Stability & censorship
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Effect of journal availability
Much higher use if immediately available Low ILL use: increases with speed Increased expectations for
"immediate" High informal use
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How are e-journal formats used?
Major journals in field Users access almost every article that they
access. (Mostly by printing them)
Minor journals in fieldUsers scan more journal abstracts and titles
than they read or print
note: controversial result--apparently users can tell quality in their subject
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How many journals do people use?Most people
Read articles from a very few journals
Some peopleRead a moderate number of journals
note: this is the "Gatekeeper Effect"
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What will we see from ADVANCED data
(such as COUNTER Level II) ?
Will it confirm our intuitions?
Will it be compatible with our traditions?
Will it vary widely by discipline?
Will it vary widely by institution
Will it lead to major changes?