counter: towards reliable online usage statistics peter shepherd project director counter 31 july...
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COUNTER: towards reliable online usage statistics
Peter ShepherdProject Director
COUNTER
31 July 2003
Background
Goal: credible, compatible, consistent publisher/vendor-generated statistics for the global information community
Libraries and consortia need online usage statistics
To assess the value of different online products/services To support collection development To plan infrastructure
Publishers need online usage statistics To experiment with new pricing models To assess the relative importance of the different
channels by which information reaches the market To provide editorial support To plan infrastructure
Code of Practice, Release 1:Main Features
Definitions of terms used Specifications for Usage Reports Data processing guidelines Auditing Compliance Maintenance and development of the Code of
Practice Governance of COUNTER
Definitions of Terms
Data elements to be collected
Page views Bibliographic data Page type Source of page Authentication of user Access rights
Session data Market elements
Every effort was made to incorporate or reconcile the definitions with existing ones from other groups, such as NISO and ICOLC.
# Term Examples / formats
Definition
3.1.2 Page type
3.1.2.1 Item Full text article, TOC, Abstract, Database record
A uniquely identifiable piece of published work that may be original or a digest or a review of other published work. PDF, Postscript and HTML formats of the same full text article (for example), will be counted as separate items.
3.1.2.2 Article An item of original written work published in a journal or other serial publication. An article is complete in itself, but usually cites other relevant published works in its list of references
3.1.2.3 TOC (Table of Contents)
A list of all articles published in a journal issue
Specifications for Usage Reports Usage Reports: Level 1
Journal Report 1: # of successful full-text article requests by month and journal
Journal Report 2: Turnaways by month and journal Database Report 1: Total searches & sessions by month &
database Database Report 2: turnaways by month & database Database Report 3: Total searches & sessions by month &
service Usage Reports: Level 2
Journal Report 3: # of successful item requests and turnaways by month, journal & page type
Journal Report 4: total searches run, by month & service Report format: CSV file, as a Microsoft Excel file
Journal Report 1: Successful Full-Text Article Requests by Month and Journal
Print ISSN Online
ISSN Jan -
01 Feb -
01 Mar -
01 Calendar
YTD
Total for all journals
6637 8732 7550 45897
Journal of AA 1212-3131 3225-3123 456 521 665 4532
Journal of BB 9821-3361 2312-8751 203 251 275 3465
Journal of CC 2464-2121 0154-1521 0 0 0 0
Journal of DD 5355-5444 0165-5542 203 251 275 2978
Example
Journal Report 2: Turnaways by Month and Journal
Print ISSN
Online ISSN
Page Type Jan - 01
Feb - 01
Mar - 01
Calendar YTD
Total: full-text turn-aways for all journals
453 233 318 4765
Journal of AA
1212-3131 3225-3123 Full text Turnaways
23 40 12 342
Journal of BB
9821-3361 2312-8751 Full text Turnaways
18 20 16 287
Example
Database Report 1: Total Searches and Sessions by Month & Database
Jan - 01
Feb - 01
Mar - 01
Calendar YTD
Database AA Searches Run 2322 2520 2742 29878
Database AA Sessions 1821 1929 2211 27654
Database BB Searches Run 3466 3210 4459 36543
Database BB Sessions 1987 2200 2544 24209
Example
Data processing guidelines
Covers only intended usage Impractical to describe filters for all
possible ways to generate usage records Code of Practice specifies the criteria to be
met by the data used in building the Usage Reports Only successful requests will be counted Records generated by the server, together with
the requested pages, should be ignored All users’ double clicks within 10 seconds on an
http-link should be counted as only one request (30 seconds for PDF)
Auditing
A publisher or content provider will be able to state that it is “Counter Compliant” only if this can be certified through an independent audit
Auditing will be required beginning in 2004
Auditing processes are under development
A list of COUNTER-approved auditors will be made available
Compliance 1 Requirement for 2003
Level 1: basic set of journal and database reports Must be provided at no extra charge
Licence Agreements Standard clause covering COUNTER compliance
Declaration of COUNTER compliance For 2003 Vendors sign declaration and demonstrate to
COUNTER that they can provide at least Level 1 Usage Reports
Register of COUNTER-compliant vendors Available from May 2003 on the COUNTER website
Compliance 2
Vendors already COUNTER compliant Blackwell Publishing, Ingenta, ISI, OUP, Portland
Press Vendors who have declared an intention to
become COUNTER compliant during 2003 American Institute of Physics, BMJ Publishing, CABI
International, EBSCO, Elsevier, Extenza, HighWire Press, Institute of Physics Publishing, Nature Publishing Group, Wiley, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Annual Reviews, Atypon
Maintenance and Development of the Code of Practice
Full text of the Code of Practice is freely available on the COUNTER website
html and PDF formats
Code of Practice will be systematically extended An Upgrade Log of proposed changes is maintained Release 2 to be announced in Jan 2004, implemented Jan
2005
Feedback on Release 1 is actively sought Via test sites involving publishers and libraries Via feedback to COUNTER via the website, International
Advisory Board, etc.
COUNTER organizational structure
A not-for-profit company in England Any surplus is retained by the project If wound up any funds are transferred to the
organization that takes over COUNTER’s mission Board structure
Board of Directors Executive Committee International Advisory Board Specific, task-oriented teams
Membership The members own the company
Governance: Executive Committee
Consortia Arnold Hirshon NELINET USALibraries Christine Fyfe University of Leicester UK David Goodman Princeton University USA Hazel Woodward Cranfield University UK Roger Brown Glaxo SmithKline UK Tony Kidd University of Glasgow UK Phil Davis Cornell University USAPublishers, Aggregators, etc. Richard Gedye Oxford University PressUK (Chair) Marthyn Borghuis Elsevier Science Netherlands Timo Hannay Nature Publishing Group UK Terry Hulbert Institute of Physics UK Eileen Shanbrom American Chemical Society USA Oliver Pesch EBSCO USA
Peter Shepherd (Project Director) UK
Governance:International Advisory Board
37 members, representing the following major constituencies
Publishers: 9 Intermediaries: 4 Industry organizations: 6 Libraries: 8 Consortia: 4 Other: 4
COUNTER Membership
Member Categories and Annual Fees
Publishers/intermediaries: £500 Library Consortia: £335 Libraries: £250 Industry organization: £250 Library affiliate: £100 (non-voting
member)
Benefits of full membership Owner of COUNTER with voting rights at
annual general meeting, etc. Regular bulletins on progress Opportunity to receive advice on
implementation
Future Developments:2003 and beyond
Objectives for 2003 Promote and gain acceptance for the Code of Practice Obtain feedback on Release 1 Develop Release 2 Define audit process for 2004 Define and set up a permanent administrative structure Promote membership of COUNTER Widespread implementation by vendors for 2004
subscription year
Beyond 2003 Build membership of COUNTER Extend and deepen Code of Practice
Cover e-books, etc Journal reporting at article level
COUNTER Founding Sponsors
AAP/PSP AIP ALPSP ARL ASA Atypon Blackwell Publishing BMJ Publishing Group EBSCO Elsevier Science ICSTI Ingenta IOPP ISI
JSTOR Lippincott, Williams &
Wilkins Nature Publishing Group New England Journal of
Medicine OCLC Oxford University Press The Publishers Association ProQuest Taylor & Francis Group STM Swets Blackwell Thieme Publishing Group UKSG
