Open Discussion about Data Collection Challenges, Successes and Ideas

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General comments?

Caryn Anderson - 3nov07

Feel free to post thoughts about how to improve data collection or to discuss your challenges or to respond to something someone else is saying here.

Some data collection issues

Caryn Anderson - 3nov07

From Caryn Anderson's essay Electronic Resource Usage Statistics: Defining a Complex Problem(DOC)

There are two general methods of collecting data about usage. Data can be gathered by tracking Web-based access locally, or by collecting vendor-provided usage data. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Locally collected statistics, for example, can be customized to produce the exact kind of data desired and in the format preferred. Additionally, sophisticated analysis of specific user groups can be generated by grouping data by IP addresses (computers in the library, computers in the science building, etc.). Conversely, access to e-resources by remote users usually goes through some sort of a proxy server which prevents this kind of user distinction. The ability to make accurate inferences about total use by specific groups is therefore restricted. In addition, locally collected statistics can only track activity up to the point at which the user enters the domain of the resource. They cannot, for example, identify whether full-text articles were retrieved, or what search terms were used, without attempting complex keystroke analysis integrated with extensive knowledge of the search interfaces of each resource. There are other issues as well, but one of the most obvious may be that tracking usage locally requires experienced technology personnel to extract, manipulate, interpret and analyze the data. This is cost-prohibitive for many institutions.

The other alternative is to collect usage data provided by vendors. This approach enables the collection of more specific information on the types of use in each resource, but requires independent access to each of the many vendors providing statistics. Vendors deliver usage data via statistics Web sites or via e-mail reports, and some do not provide statistics at all. Of those that provide statistics via e-mail only, some provide simple text descriptions while others attach XLS or CSV files. Of the dozens of vendors that deliver usage statistics via the Web, each have different URLs with different usernames and passwords, all of which must be managed by institutional personnel. Each site must be accessed separately every time statistics are desired, and the information architecture and design of each site is different, which requires time and mental effort for re-orientation to each vendor’s system. While some vendors allow institutions to set up custom reports to run regularly, there is variation in how those reports are run and delivered. In some cases the user must visit the site to manually initiate a customized report. In other cases, the systems can be set to deliver report results to an e-mail address at periodic intervals. There is also great diversity in the formats in which usage data is provided. This matter is further treated in the section on Data Transfer and Manipulation.

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