Usage Reporting
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      Understanding COUNTER 5 Reports

      An overview of report types and metrics

      COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of Networked Electronic Resources) provides a set of standards and practices for reporting online resource usage data.

      The COUNTER 5 reports are designed to offer a consistent and comparable way to measure the use of digital resources.

      This article explains the different types of COUNTER 5 reports and how to interpret their metrics.

      Platform Master Reports (PR)

      The Platform Master Reports provide an overview of the overall usage of a content provider's platform. These reports include the following metrics:

      • Searches_Platform: The number of searches performed.
      • Total_Item_Investigations: The number of times users viewed resources.  Note: this is the same as Total_Item_Requests.
      • Unique_Item_Investigations: The number of unique resources which users viewed. Note: this is the same as Unique_Item_Requests.
      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users viewed resources.
      • Unique_Item_Requests: The number of unique resources users viewed.

      The Platform Reports can help you understand the overall usage patterns, including how users are searching and accessing content.

      Platform Usage Reports 1 (PR_P1)

      The Platform Usage Reports provide a subset of the Platform Master Report information. These reports include the following metrics:

      • Searches_Platform: The number of searches performed.
      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users viewed resources.
      • Unique_Item_Requests: The number of unique resources users viewed.

      Item Master Reports (IR)

      The Item Master Reports provide usage data for individual resources.  These reports include the following metrics:

      • Total_Item_Investigations: The number of times users viewed the resource.  Note: this is the same as Total_Item_Requests.
      • Unique_Item_Investigations: The number of unique requests for the resource. Note: this is the same as Unique_Item_Requests.
      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users viewed the resource.
      • Unique_Item_Requests: The number of unique requests for the resources.

      Multimedia Item Reports (IR_M1)

      The Multimedia Item Reports (IR_M1) provide usage data specifically for multimedia content items, such as videos and audio. These reports include the following metric:

      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users viewed the resource

      The Multimedia Item Reports can help you understand how your organisation is engaging with multimedia resources.

      Database Master Report (DR)

      The Database Master Report (DR) is useful for understanding the publishers available on Digital Theatre+ whose content your organization is engaging with.

      In the DR report for Digital Theatre+, the Publisher column lists the different publishers whose content is available within the database. These reports include the following metric:

      • Total_Item_Investigations: The number of times users viewed the resource.  Note: this is the same as Total_Item_Requests.
      • Unique_Item_Investigations: The number of unique requests for the resource. Note: this is the same as Unique_Item_Requests.
      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users viewed the resource.
      • Unique_Item_Requests: The number of unique requests for the resources.

      Database Search and Item Usage Report (DR_D1)

      The Database Search and Item Usage Report (DR_D1) provides usage data, broken down by publisher. This report includes the following metrics for each publisher:

      • Total_Item_Investigations: The number of times users viewed full metadata or records for content from a specific publisher within the database.
      • Total_Item_Requests: The number of times users attempted to access the full content or records from a specific publisher within the database.

      Interpreting the Metrics

      When interpreting the COUNTER 5 report metrics, it's important to consider the context and goals of your organization or institution. For example, a high number of Item Requests may indicate that users are accessing and using the content frequently, which could be a positive sign. However, a high number of Total Searches with a low number of Item Requests could indicate that users are having difficulty finding relevant content.

      When interpreting these metrics, consider:

      • Trends over time: Look for increases or decreases in usage to identify patterns or the impact of specific events or interventions.
      • Context: Compare the data against known events, such as academic terms, to understand the context of usage peaks and troughs.
      • Comparison: Use the data to compare the usage of different resources.
      The COUNTER 5 reports provide valuable data, and should be used in conjunction with other metrics and qualitative feedback to gain a comprehensive understanding of your organisation's needs and behaviors.

      Downloading reports

      COUNTER 5 reports can be downloaded as TSV (Tab-Separated Values) files, which are compatible with most spreadsheet programs.

      To import these files into your spreadsheet software:

      1. Download the TSV files from https://edu.digitaltheatreplus.com/reports.
      2. Then, open your spreadsheet program and use the import function to select and open the TSV file.
      This will convert the tab-separated data into a structured format that can be easily analyzed and manipulated within the spreadsheet.