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Web Statistics -- Measuring User Activity: An Analysis of Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Website Usage Statistics

NCJ Number
171118
Author(s)
M W Zawitz
Date Published
1998
Length
14 pages
Annotation
An analysis of Bureau of Justice Statistics website use over a 16-week period between August and December 1997 revealed a total of 155,216 outside user sessions were logged.
Abstract

The website averaged 1,424 user sessions per day, and the length of the average user session ranged from 7.5 minutes to slightly over 8 minutes. More than 100,000 downloadable files were requested, including more than 57,000 specific publications, more than 33,000 spreadsheets and text tables suitable for spreadsheet use, and more than 19,000 press releases. Users appeared to be using every part of the website and were most interested in topical information and data they could reuse. Many users came into the website on pages other than the home page and did not appear to be deterred from using files that required additional software or plug-ins to their browsers. Based on the number of website pages and related publications requested, significant interest was demonstrated in violence, juvenile crime, and the link between drugs and crime. Data are provided on the most frequently requested website pages, publications, and spreadsheets. 9 tables and 1 figure