E-journals: their use, value and impact - final report
This two-part report takes in-depth look at how researchers in the UK use electronic journals, the value they bring to universities and research institutions and the contribution they make to research productivity, quality and outcomes.
Journal publishers began to provide online access to full-text scholarly articles in the late 1990s, triggering a revolution in the scholarly communications process. A very high proportion of journal articles are now available online 96 per cent of journal titles in science, technology and medicine, and 86 per cent of titles in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
It’s clear that e-journals have given researchers an unprecedented level and convenience of access to knowledge in scholarly articles, but what effect have they had on the ways in which researchers seek information? Do they provide good value for money to higher education libraries and what are the wider benefits for universities and research institutions?
Our Phase One report examines how researchers interact with journal websites and whether enhanced access to journal articles has led to greater productivity, research quality and other outcomes. It finds that researchers are savvy when it comes to using e-journals, finding the information they need quickly and efficiently, and that higher spending on e-journals is linked to better research outcomes.
Based on an analysis of log files from journal websites and data from libraries in ten universities and research institutions, our report starts to build a clear picture of how e-journals are shaping the information landscape a picture that we’ll add to as our research in this area continues.
The aim in the Phase Two report was to test and examine the reasons underlying the behaviours which were identified in Phase One.
The new Phase Two report, along with all previous Phase One papers, is available to download below.
Hard copies of the report are available via email: contact@rin.ac.uk
Follow-up activities
The RIN held an event on 1 July 2009 in London to discuss the report and to spark the debate on the issues raised and to inform Phase Two of the study, which has now been completed by CIBER.
Comments
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Anonymous said on 21 February 2011 at 6:37pm:
The most interesting suggestion in the Phase Two report is that a higher rate of use does not necessarily imply a higher level of complexity. One would tend to assume that the more one uses online resources, the more one would use advanced search and other query refinement tools. However, it seems that the same number of people are searching more (which would tend to increase specificity of search), but instead a larger number of people performing searches to start with. This is actually better for the longevity of e-journals, though, as the broader the base of users it gains the longer it will last.
Jim
Masters of Public Administration, UCSD
Anonymous said on 18 February 2011 at 10:48am:
RIN has done excellent job. The report is really very very useful to all library and information specialist, particulalry e-journals managers
Rajpal Walke
Anonymous said on 01 February 2011 at 10:03pm:
It’s a very interesting question to ask. Even though we have more technology at the touch of a button, has we become more efficient? I would think that there are a lot of variables to consider.
Matthew David
http://www.theinvestortoday.com
Anonymous said on 19 January 2011 at 9:03pm:
as usual with the RIN, a great report which gives a clear overview of end-users’ new behaviors. thanks for sharing.
Hervé Basset; http://scienceintelligence.wordpress.com
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