Database Committee: Database Investigations, Requests, and Searches

There are several different types of usage metric in Counter 5, which break down into investigations and requests. An investigation is tracked when a user performs any action in relation to a content item or title, while a request is specifically related to viewing or downloading the full content item.

Investigations -

• Total_Item_Investigations - the total number of times a content item or information related to a content item was accessed.
• Unique_Item_Investigations - the number of unique content items (e.g. chapters) investigated by a user.
• Unique_Title_Investigations - the number of unique titles (e.g. books) investigated by a user.

Requests -

• Total_Item_Requests - the total number of times the full text of a content item was downloaded or viewed.
• Unique_Item_Requests - the number of unique content items (e.g. chapters) requested by a user.
• Unique_Title_Requests - the number of unique titles (e.g. books) requested by a user.
   

There are four different types of searches in Counter 5:

• Regular Searches - the number of times a user searches a database, when they have actively chosen that database from a list of options OR there is only one database available to search.
• Automated Searches - the number of times a user searches a database, when they have not actively chosen that database from a list of options. That is, Searches_Automated is recorded when the platform offers a search across multiple databases by default, and the user has not elected to limit their search to a subset of those databases. Included are searches conducted on a host site or discovery service where multiple databases are searched simultaneously with a single query and the end user does not have the option of selecting the databases being searched.
• Federated Searches - the number of times a search is run remotely by a computer.
• Platform Searches - the number of times a user searches a database, regardless of the number of databases involved in the search.

Scenarios - Searches

Susan is researching the history of antibiotics on Publisher Platform Alpha. She runs a search for “history AND antibiotics”. The counts are: 

• Searches_Regular:  1
• Searches_Automated: 0
• Searches_Platform:  1
• Searches_Federated: 0

For a database like this, the cost per use calculation may be related to searches rather than to full-text downloads; this varies according to individual library practice.

Susan is researching the history of antibiotics on Publisher Platform Alpha, which includes multiple databases. She runs a search for “history AND antibiotics”. The counts are:

• Searches_Regular:  0
• Searches_Automated: 1
• Searches_Platform:  1
• Searches_Federated: 0

Susan then selects the ‘History of Medicine’ database and reruns her search. The counts are:

• Searches_Regular:  1
• Searches_Automated: 1
• Searches_Platform:  2
• Searches_Federated: 0

In a separate session, Susan uses an API to search Publisher Platform Alpha. The count for that activity is:

• Searches_Regular:  0
• Searches_Automated: 0
• Searches_Platform:  0
• Searches_Federated: 1