Recommendations for benchmarking Web site usage among academic libraries

College and Research Libraries

Volumn 59, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 61-79

  Hightower, Christy ^a   Sih, Julie ^a   Tilghman, Adam ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0032338543     PISSN: 00100870     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.5860/crl.59.1.61     Document Type: Article

References (42)

1. The wwwstat software, written by Roy Fielding, is available from the University of California-Irvine Department of Information and Computer Science at http://www.ics.uci.edu/pub/ websoft/wwwstat (Nov. 1996).
2. "How Can I Keep Statistics about My Web Server?" at http://www.boutell.com/faq/ stats.htm (Apr. 1996) is the relevant section of Thomas Boutell, WWW FAQ: Frequently-Asked Questions (Answered, of Coursel). The comp.infosystems.www USENET newsgroup has since been divided into fifteen separate newsgroups, accessible via http://www.boutell.com/faq/ ngroups.htm (Apr. 1996).
3. Materials from the Web4Lib Electronic Discussion, including a searchable archive and The Library Web Manager's Reference Center, may be accessed from http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ Web4Lib/ (Sept. 1997).
4. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
5. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
6. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
7. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
8. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
9. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
10. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
11. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
12. The most helpful of these were: Steven J. Vaughn-Nichols, "Caching Could Stall Internet Commerce," Byte 20, no. 6 (June 1995): 40; Julie Chao, "Tallies of Web-Site Browsers Often Deceive," Wall Street Journal, June 21, 1995, 1(B); Ellis Booker, "Labor Day in Tuktoyaktuk?" Computerworld 29 (July 10, 1995): 58; Matthew Cutler and Devra Hall, "Sizing 'Em Up," Internet World 6, no. 8 (Aug. 1995): 22-24; Stephen Howard, "Have We Got a Hit?" Mac WEEK 9 (Sept. 11, 1995): 3; Wayne Rash Jr., "Demand Grows for Commercial Accountability on the Internet," Communications Week (Nov. 6, 1995): 86; John Evan Frook, "Web-Hit Audit System Called into Question," Communications Week (Dec. 18, 1995): 1; Jeff Ubois, "The Art of the Audit," Internet World 6, no. 12 (Dec. 1995): 62-74; Niel Robertson, "Stalking the Elusive Usage Data," Internet World 7, no. 4 (Apr. 1996): 28-31.
13. Rick Stout, Web Site Stats: Tracking Hits and Analyzing Traffic (Berkeley, Calif: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1997); Robert W. Buchanan Jr. and Charles Lukaszewski, Measuring the Impact of Your Web Site (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997).
14. Rick Stout, Web Site Stats: Tracking Hits and Analyzing Traffic (Berkeley, Calif: Osborne McGraw-Hill, 1997); Robert W. Buchanan Jr. and Charles Lukaszewski, Measuring the Impact of Your Web Site (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997).
15. The most recent of these are Mitch Wagner's buyers guide for various software tools in "Tracking Web Users Is Getting Easier," Computerworld 31 (Mar. 3, 1997): 59, 63; and Linda Rich's review of several Web measurement services in "Count Them In," Mediaweek 7 (Feb. 3, 1997): IQ24-IQ29. Consult http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/ World_Wide_Web/Servers/Log_Analysis_Tools/ for additional freeware, shareware, and commercial analysis products.
16. The most recent of these are Mitch Wagner's buyers guide for various software tools in "Tracking Web Users Is Getting Easier," Computerworld 31 (Mar. 3, 1997): 59, 63; and Linda Rich's review of several Web measurement services in "Count Them In," Mediaweek 7 (Feb. 3, 1997): IQ24-IQ29. Consult http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/ World_Wide_Web/Servers/Log_Analysis_Tools/ for additional freeware, shareware, and commercial analysis products.
17. Tova Stabin and Irene Owen, "Gathering Usage Statistics at an Environmental Health Library Web Site," Computers in Libraries 17, no. 3 (Mar. 1997): 30-37.
18. Norman Friesen, "Monitoring the Use of World Wide Web Pages," available at http:// www.ualberta.ca/∼nfriesen/597/.index.html (Jan. 10, 1996).
19. Laurel A. Clyde, "The Library as Information Provider: The Home Page," Electronic Library 14, no. 6 (Dec. 1996): 549-558. This is a survey of many libraries but does not examine usage data.
20. Linda Himelstein, Ellen Neuborne, and Paul M. Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," Business Week (Oct. 6, 1997): 128-38.
21. Matthew Kinsman, "Online Advertising: The Basics," Catalog Age 14 (Sept. 1, 1997): 70-71.
22. Michael Krantz, "The Medium Is the Measure," Mediaweek 5 (Sept. 25, 1995): IQ20-IQ24.
23. Veronis, Suhler & Associates' estimate, as reported in Catherine P. Taylor, "Everything Catches in the Net," Adweek (Eastern Ed.) 38 (Sept. 8, 1997): MO32.
24. Jupiter Communications Inc.'s projection, as reported in Himelstein, Neuborne, and Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," 128-38.
25. Purrester Research, as reported in Mark Halper, "So, Does Your Web Site Pay?" Forbes, ASAP Supplement (Aug. 25, 1997): 117-18.
26. An excellent recent overview, from the perspective of newspapers that sell ad space on their Web sites, is Scott Kirsner, "Web of Confusion," American Journalism Review 19, no. 6 (July/ Aug. 1997): 34-39. See also Paul Demery, "Keeping a Reliable Score of 'Hits,'" Practical Accountant 30 (Mar. 1997): 16; Jodi B. Cohen, "Web Audits: A Complex Art," Editor & Publisher 130 (Feb. 3, 1997): 241-261.
27. An excellent recent overview, from the perspective of newspapers that sell ad space on their Web sites, is Scott Kirsner, "Web of Confusion," American Journalism Review 19, no. 6 (July/ Aug. 1997): 34-39. See also Paul Demery, "Keeping a Reliable Score of 'Hits,'" Practical Accountant 30 (Mar. 1997): 16; Jodi B. Cohen, "Web Audits: A Complex Art," Editor & Publisher 130 (Feb. 3, 1997): 241-261.
28. An excellent recent overview, from the perspective of newspapers that sell ad space on their Web sites, is Scott Kirsner, "Web of Confusion," American Journalism Review 19, no. 6 (July/ Aug. 1997): 34-39. See also Paul Demery, "Keeping a Reliable Score of 'Hits,'" Practical Accountant 30 (Mar. 1997): 16; Jodi B. Cohen, "Web Audits: A Complex Art," Editor & Publisher 130 (Feb. 3, 1997): 241-261.
29. Damon Darlin, "Ratings Game," Forbes 158 (Dec. 2, 1996): 226; Cris Beam, "ABC and BPA Audit the Body Electric," Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management 25 (Oct. 15, 1996): 30-32; Jane Hodges, "BPA Questions Int'l Audit Standards," Advertising Age 68 (Feb. 3, 1997): 56; Himelstein, Neuborne, and Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," 134.
30. Damon Darlin, "Ratings Game," Forbes 158 (Dec. 2, 1996): 226; Cris Beam, "ABC and BPA Audit the Body Electric," Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management 25 (Oct. 15, 1996): 30-32; Jane Hodges, "BPA Questions Int'l Audit Standards," Advertising Age 68 (Feb. 3, 1997): 56; Himelstein, Neuborne, and Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," 134.
31. Damon Darlin, "Ratings Game," Forbes 158 (Dec. 2, 1996): 226; Cris Beam, "ABC and BPA Audit the Body Electric," Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management 25 (Oct. 15, 1996): 30-32; Jane Hodges, "BPA Questions Int'l Audit Standards," Advertising Age 68 (Feb. 3, 1997): 56; Himelstein, Neuborne, and Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," 134.
32. Damon Darlin, "Ratings Game," Forbes 158 (Dec. 2, 1996): 226; Cris Beam, "ABC and BPA Audit the Body Electric," Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management 25 (Oct. 15, 1996): 30-32; Jane Hodges, "BPA Questions Int'l Audit Standards," Advertising Age 68 (Feb. 3, 1997): 56; Himelstein, Neuborne, and Eng, "Web Ads Start to Click," 134.
33. Consult http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Internet/ World_Wide_Web/Servers/Log_Analysis_Tools/Titles for an extensive list of Web server log analysis software and services.
34. Coalition for Advertising-Supported Information and Entertainment, CASIE Guiding Principles of Interactive Media Audience Measurements, available at http://www.commercepark.com/ AAAA/casie/gp/guiding_principles.html (Apr. 3, 1997).
35. Internet Advertising Bureau Media Measurement Task Force, Metrics and Methodology, available at http://www.iab.net/advertise/metricsource.html (Sept. 15, 1997).
36. Kirsner, "Web of Confusion," 36-39.
37. Ibid., 36.
38. Neil Randall, "The New Cookie Monster," PC Magazine 16 (Apr. 22, 1997): 211-14;
39. Stephen H. Wildstrom, "Privacy and the 'Cookie' Monster," Business Week no. 3506 (Dec. 16, 1996): 22.
40. IAB, Metrics and Methodology.
41. Association of Research Libraries, ARL Statistics and Information, available at http:// www.arl.org/stats/statistics/stat.html (Apr. 1997).
42. See note 6 above for reviews of such software and services.