Purpose
We are piloting a study of library users’ research
patterns for the subjects of Education,
Communication, and Psychology by using web
analytics tools and database usage statistics. This
research investigates the correlation between
database use and position of the link on the
subject web page. We also examined the
relationship between the numbers of searches
and sessions. These disciplines were selected
because they not only include a wide range of
users’ research experiences, from freshman to
doctoral students and faculty, but also consist of
a large sample size, 15% of the student body.
Analyzing Click Patterns and Database Use
to Enhance Library Services
Heat Map
Communication Education Psychology Total
Academic Search
Premier
Communication
Abstracts
157
70
342
90
n/a
n/a
90
Comm. & Mass
Media Complete
587
n/a
n/a
587
ERIC
n/a
984
n/a
984
3. Mobile User Behavior: Are individuals using
mobile devices accessing our databases in a
different pattern?
4. LibGuides: What is the effect of LibGuides on
our subject web pages?
Psychology
403
0
445
Graduate
34
357
3
Faculty
Total FTE
16
453
34
391
15
463
A heat map visualizes clicks on a web page by
using color to indicate high and low areas of
use. As you can see, page position does not
correlate to number of clicks.
PsycINFO
38
81
1936
2055
PsycNET
n/a
n/a
387
387
Click data is the number of times a user clicks on a link.
We used Google Analytics’ ability to track outbound links.
Our Assumptions:
Confetti View
Academic Search
Premier
Communication
Abstracts
Comm. & Mass
Media Complete
II. The primary point of database entry for our
users would be the subject web page.
Methods
For our pilot test we gathered data over a three
month period (Feb.-Apr. 2011) using a variety of
unobtrusive tools.
The resources surveyed were Ebsco’s Academic
Search Premier, PsycINFO, ERIC, Communication &
Mass Media Complete, and Communication
Abstracts. From APA PsycNET we collected
statistics combined from PsycARTICLES and
PsycCRITIQUES, because the user searches both
databases by default once in the platform.
Database Usage Statistics
First we have the traditional usage statistics from
our vendors, Ebsco and APA PsycNET. Ebsco
provides user sessions and searches by database.
APA PsycNET provides combined statistics on
session and search data.
Web Usage Statistics
For the click data, we used two commercial,
hosted web analytics tools, Google Analytics and
Crazy Egg. Google Analytics was used to measure
the number of clicks each of the databases
received from the subject database page. These
totals were converted into percentage of use.
Crazy Egg visualized this data into heat maps and
other visual reports.
White dots represent
new visitors, red are
returning visitors.
12452
3
2536
461
5
5645
1748
3
7970
1648
4
PsycINFO
14866
2832
5
PsycNET
709
549*
1
Sessions started
from other pages
12452
342
12110
461
90
371
1748
587
1161
ERIC
1648
984
664
PsycINFO
2832
2055
777
549*
38602
ERIC
Comm. & Mass
Media Complete
PsycNET
Sessions
*Since the PsycNET platform searches two databases by default, the sessions are counted
twice, appearing to have twice the number of users in platform than actually logged in.
Total Clicks on Comm.,
Total Sessions
Educ., & Psyc. pages
Academic Search
Premier
Communication
Abstracts
Searches
Average searches
per session
Sessions are the number of times a database is logged into.
Searches are counted by database. This data is provided by our vendors.
Confetti view displays each click as a colored
dot on a web page. This report reveals the
volume of clicks all over the page.
387
162
2. Turnaways: Are the turnaways a result of the
user not being on the VPN, a single-seat license
agreement, or a non-affiliated patron trying to
access our resources?
Finally, we’d like to expand our research by
conducting user testing through focus groups
with students in a variety of programs.
Conclusion
Database Usage Statistics
I. Database link position on the subject web
page would correlate directly to its use.
1. Returning Visitors vs. New Visitors: Is there a
difference in the clicked databases?
115
Although any student may use these subject
pages, we assume that the majority of usage will
be from the primary programs of study.
Undergraduate
We intend to expand our pilot study to all subject
pages on our library website to continue to
investigate user behavior and examine additional
points with an in-depth analysis.
Subject Web Page Click Data
Our Demographics:
Communication Education
Expansion
How are our users accessing
these databases if they are
not using the subject pages?
We have many gateways into our
resources; from other subject
pages, our A-Z database list, our
journal finder, or more often from
our LibGuides, instead of the
library web site.
We learned many things from our three month
pilot, including issues we couldn’t predict.
1. We found our first assumption was wrong;
link positioning on the page does not
correlate to database use, as with Academic
Search Premier’s high use on all three pages.
2. We discovered that LibGuides amount for a
significant portion of the links into our
databases. In part two of our study, we will
customize the implementation of Google
Analytics in LibGuides and analyze the use
data found in LibGuides admin module.
3. Searches per session is lower than we
assumed. This tells us either searches are
accurate, or users are giving up. In part two,
we intend to analyze article downloads and
links to other databases to determine what
portion of searches result in finding full-text.
Overall, we have a better picture of our users’
behavior and are using this data to target
improvements in our services such as focusing on
our LibGuides, and revising our subject web
pages. We are sharing our results with our
colleagues to ease database access across the
disciplines and enhance library services.
Tabatha Farney
Web Services Librarian tfarney@uccs.edu
Beth Larkee Kumar
Electronic Resources Librarian bkumar@uccs.edu