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Dear Brian, This is really interesting, thanks for sharing. Was a similar breakdown produced relating specifically to academic libraries? I asked lis-link a while ago but had absolutely no response about web 2.0 usage in libraries...! Our interest is both in terms of postgraduate student behaviour in the UK, but also usage in developing countries in the student/researcher area and beyond to policy makers. Best wishes, Stephanie Stephanie Watson Customer Services Coordinator BLDS - British Library for Development Studies Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE Tel: +44 (0)1273 915662 Email: [log in to unmask] Website: http://blds.ids.ac.uk/ BLDS is funded by DFID http://www.dfid.gov.uk/ (through the Mobilising Knowledge for Development Programme) and IDS http://www.ids.ac.uk/. Keep up-to-date with the latest BLDS news and acquisitions by subscribing to our email newsletter, sent out every 4-8 weeks: www.blds.ids.ac.uk/updates/newsletter_signup.html<http://www.blds.ids.ac.uk/updates/newsletter_signup.html -----Original Message----- From: An informal open list set up by UKSG - Connecting the Information Community [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brian Kelly Sent: 18 April 2012 09:17 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [lis-e-resources] Decreasing usage statistics This thread is interesting and relates to work I've been involved in in Evidence, Impact, Metrics [1]. Over the past few years I've published several surveys on use of online services, typically by Russell Group Universities, including use of Facebook [2] [3] and Twitter [4] as well as surveys of links to Russell Group Unis [5] and links to social media sites from Russell Group university home pages [7]. As might be expected, when usage is growing, the institutions concerned tend to regard this as evidence of adoption of appropriate solutions and implementation of best practices. However when usage is decreasing, as illustrated in a post which asked "Are University Web Sites in Decline?" [8] the survey methodology must be flawed! In order to try and have a more detached view of the evidence and the subsequent processes of interpretting the evidence which may lead to policy decisions as part of the JISC-funded Observatory project we have been adopting more systematic processes for the stages of (1) gathering information; (2) making sense of the evidence and (3) informing policy and practice. Stage 1 include documenting the paradata [9] - the information about the survey tools and approaches, which can help to ensure findings are comparable and reproducible. The processes for making sense of the data are to open up the discussions about the findings, survey methodology and speculations for the reasons for the findings in an open forum (as you are doing here on this list). That will then lead to stage 3, which will be how should the open discussions inform policy and practice. Clearly usage statistics of electronic resources is very importance. I'm wondering more rigorous and systematic approaches to these stages might be valuable. Thoughts? thanks Brian References 1 Final Reports from UKOLN's Evidence, Impact, Metrics Work, 21 Dec 2011, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/final-reports-from-ukolns-evidence-impact-metrics-work/ 2 Use of Facebook by Russell Group Universities, 18 Jan 2011, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/use-of-facebook-by-russell-group-universities/ 3 Is It Time To Ditch Facebook, When There's Half a Million Fans Across Russell Group Universities?, 26 Sept 2011., http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/is-it-time-to-ditch-facebook-when-theres-half-a-million-fans-across-russell-group-universities/ 4 Institutional Use of Twitter by Russell Group Universities, 14 Jan 2011, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/institutional-use-of-twitter-by-russell-group-universities/ 5 Analysis of Incoming Links to Russell Group University Home Pages, 1 Feb 2012, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/analysis-of-incoming-links-to-russell-group-university-home-pages/ 6 Links to Social Media Sites on Russell Group University Home Pages, 18 Jan 2012 http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/social-media-links-on-russell-group-university-home-pages/ 8 Are University Web Sites in Decline?, 20 Oct 2011, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/are-university-web-sites-in-decline/ 9 Paradata for Online Surveys, 29 Nov 2011, http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/paradata-for-online-surveys/ -- -------------------------------------------------------- Brian Kelly UKOLN, University of Bath, Bath, UK, BA2 7AY Email: [log in to unmask] Blog: http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/briankelly lis-e-resources is a UKSG list - http://www.uksg.org/serials UKSG groups also available on Facebook and LinkedIn This message is for the addressee only and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDS. Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE Tel: +44 (0)1273 606261; Fax: +44 (0)1273 621202 IDS, a charitable company limited by guarantee: Registered Charity No. 306371; Registered in England 877338; VAT No. GB 350 899914 lis-e-resources is a UKSG list - http://www.uksg.org/serials UKSG groups also available on Facebook and LinkedIn