RE: On metrics

["Elizabeth R Lorbeer" <lorbeer@uab.edu>]

Jeff,

Metric results are open to wide interpretation.  Too often the 
focus is on quantity instead of quality of downloaded content. 
Numbers alone are no assurance that the content met the user's 
need, improved learning outcomes or increased research 
productivity.

Liz Lorbeer
University of Alabama at Birmingham

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Wonsik "Jeff"
Shim
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 4:02 PM
To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
Subject: Re: On metrics

Liz,

although I agree with you that more detailed data would serve us 
better, please be aware that other groups of clientele exist with 
regard to usage metrics. Librarians is just one of several 
stakeholders--authors, university adminitrators, consortia 
managers, publishers and vendors to name a few --in the 
subscription contents. So you don't want to say no. of downloads 
is trivial.

Librarians would need more detailed usage metrics to have a 
better understanding of user needs and demands. But other groups 
will focus on more macro level data and no. of downloads is one 
such data. I personally think that if other decision makers 
within the parent organization believes that downloads are 
important, librarians should look at the numbers more closely, 
understand their trends better.

I also think that downloads, even at the aggregate level, tell us 
something about user demands and preferences in the absence of 
direct measure for such. Inclusion of no. of downloads as a core 
element in standard usage metrics such as COUNTER needs to be 
maintained for the time being.

-Jeff Shim
Dept. of Library and Information Science
Sungkyunkwan University
Seoul, Korea


On 10/11/07, Elizabeth R Lorbeer <lorbeer@uab.edu> wrote:
> The number of downloads is a trivial metric since all it reveals
> is that an attempt was made to access an article at the journal's
> web site. More useful metrics include machine specific IP of the
> requestor, volume specific usage, and average length of time
> viewing an article.
>
> Liz Lorbeer
> University of Alabama at Birmingham
> lorbeer@uab.edu