Studying SFX Logs to Better Understand User Behavior

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Studying SFX Logs to Better Understand User
Behavior

• Bennett Claire Ponsford, Digital Services
  Librarian
• Anne L. Highsmith, Consortia Systems Coordinator
• Texas AM University Libraries

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Texas AM University

• 46,000-plus undergraduate and 8,500 graduate
  students
• 250 degree programs in 10 colleges
• 2,800 faculty in a research-intensive environment
• Branch campuses in Galveston, Texas and Doha,
  Qatar

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University Libraries

• Member of ARL
• Main library with 5 branches
• 3 in College Station
• 1 in Galveston, TX
• 1 in Doha, Qatar
• Spending over 7 million per year on electronic
  resources
• Redesigning our website anyway

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Our Current SFX Implementation

• Went live with SFX 2 in May 2004
• SFX 3 in January 2006
• A-Z List in January 2006
• A-Z List ver. 3 in January 2008
• Current SFX menu design unchanged since we went
  live

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Why study users?

• To see how your users search when youre not
  watching
• To resolve internal disagreements over default
  features to include, etc.
• To see whether changes to SFX menus really
  improved results
• As a counterpoint to focus groups and task-based
  user testing

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What do our users say?

• Hated all the pop-up windows
• Pop-up windows in general
• Highjacking previous content
• SFX menus too busy and confusing
• Did not understand the 3 catalog links
• Never used the FAQ or Ulrichs link
• All they want is full text anyway

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What do the numbers say?

• Sample from the SFX logs
• 14 days per year
• 3 years, FY 2006 as much of FY 2008 as
  available
• Sample from the apache logs
• Data available only for FY 2008

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Where are they coming from?
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Where do they go?
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What if there is no full text?
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Full Text from the Catalogs
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Where do they go?
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Requests over Time
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Full Text Availability and Actions
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No Full Text Actions
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Public/Library Usage

• Catalog

• SFX

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Overall Requests Public/Library
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Clicking on Full Text Public/Library
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No Full Text Behavior Public/Library
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Requests from AZ List Public/Library
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Review of Apache Logs
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What Next SFX Menus?

• Redesign SFX Menus using simplified menus
• Just display full text, if available, in basic
  section
• Decrease all the verbiage
• Reduce duplicate listings with display logic
• Display catalog links only if holdings available
• Experiment with direct link banner option
• User test changes

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What Next Home page?

• Search box from Libraries home page
• Review apache logs re size of problem
• Wording changes/help text

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Technical section -- outline

• Characteristics of stat tables
• How statistics are gathered and stored
• Characteristics of Apache logs
• Modifications to Apache logging to facilitate
  stats
• Statistical sample
• How you can do this too

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Characteristics of stat tables (1)

• 3 stat tables ( offline equivalents)
• stat_object
• stat_target_service
• stat_repeatables
• Request has 1 entry in stat_object table
• Tables join on request_id
• Request has multiple entries in
  stat_target_service table
• 1 entry (row) for each link on menu

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Characteristics of stat tables (2)

• Exceptions to request in stat_object table has
  several corresponding records in
  stat_target_services
• API requests - 0 entries in stat_target_service
• Click on any type of link where direct linking
  occurs 1 entry in stat_target_service

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Stat object data elements (1)

• Name
• -----------------------
• REQUEST_ID
• ISSN
• ISBN
• LCCN
• LOCAL
• TITLE
• ATITLE
• JTITLE
• BTITLE
• CTITLE
• SERIES
• PUBLISHER
• PLACE_OF_PUBLICATION
• OBJECT

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Stat object data elements (2)

• Name
• -----------------------
• SUBCATEGORY
• STATUS
• DOI
• REQ_DATE
• TIME
• SOURCE
• IP
• OBJECT_TYPE
• INSTITUTE
• USER_GROUP
• FACULTY
• HAS_FULLTXT
• DATE_OF_PUBLICATION
• EPAGE
• SPAGE
• PRESENTATION_FORMAT
• SESSION_ID

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Rows in target service table

• Target Clicks Service
• INFORMAWORLD_JOURNALS 1 getFullTxt
• METAPRESS_ROUTLEDGE 1 getFullTxt
• AM_VOYAGER 1 getHolding
• MS_VOYAGER 0 getHolding
• GA_VOYAGER 0 getHolding
• WWW_SEARCH_ENGINES 0 getWebSearch
• AM_PROBLEM_REPORT 0 getWebService
• AM_SFX_FAQ 0 getWebService
• ULRICHSWEB_COM 1 getCitedJournal

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How stats are gathered stored (1)

• Run online to offline daily
• Run export_tab.pl monthly - Embedded in special
  perl script that copies monthly cumulations to
  report server
• Copy stat_object_offline stat_target_service_off
  line, but not stat_repeatables_offline

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How stats are gathered stored (2)

• Copy these tables in their entirety, except for
  some open_urls in stat_object
• Perl script on report server loads data into
  Oracle tables
• Create separate tables by academic year because
  of size -- academic 2008 to date
• 1.3M requests
• 8.4M target service links

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Characteristics of Apache logs (1)

• Real ip associated with request available only
  from reverse Apache log
• Logs that span long time period
• Beware of differences between v2 and v3 a-z lists
• Note if you have changed display options, e.g.
  between brief and detail view

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Characteristics of Apache logs (2)

• Certain data available only from logs, because it
  doesnt generate a request or hasnt generated
  a request yet.
• Category search
• Auxiliary functions
• Use of info button on az list
• Push to Metalib myspace from az list
• Opening SFX az list from within Metalib

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Modifications to Apache logging

• Set up custom logging statement in httpd.conf
• Write the data in a single record
• Store tabs between data elements within record

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Samples

• STAT table samples
• 2 weeks worth of data across 3 years
• Same day of week / same week of month
• 1st Thursday in January, 2nd Friday in March
• Apache logs
• Academic 2008 was only year available with
  sufficient data elements
• Selected representative days from that year

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DIY instructions (1)

• Run online2offline job (server_admin_util)
• Run /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx_version_3/instance/adm
  in/database/export_tab.pl
• By default writes .exp file to scratch directory
• Must run once for each table
• Download .exp files load into MS Access

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DIY instructions (2)

• Go to http//lib.tamu.edu/directory/ahighsmi and
  click on link for this presentation to download
  zip file.
• Zip file contains
• Copy of this presentation
• Sample MS Access databases
• Perl program to parse Apache log entries
• Custom Apache log format for httpd.conf

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Contact info

• Bennett Claire Ponsford
• bennett.ponsford_at_tamu.edu
• http//lib.tamu.edu/directory/bponsfor
• Anne L. Highsmith
• hismith_at_tamu.edu
• http//lib.tamu.edu/directory/ahighsmi