1. Are user statistics available?

Yes. Library administrators and other authorized users may access MCD Usage Statistics reports and, if desired, COUNTER reports.

2. How often are the institutional statistics updated?

The statistical reports are updated daily around 4 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

3. How do I access my institutional statistics?

Authorized users may click For Librarians in the left-hand panel of the Home Page and log in to the administrator account to access the institutional statistics. Users who have trouble logging in to the administrator account should contact customer service for assistance (Contact Us).

4. How do I download my institutional statistics?

Each report includes an "Export" link in the top left-hand corner of the report. Clicking on this Excel icon will convert the data into an Excel spreadsheet that can be manipulated and saved to a computer.

5. What is the report titled MCD Usage Statistics?

The report MCD Usage Statistics was designed to fulfill customers' needs by providing an accurate, detailed representation of Marshall Cavendish Digital usage at their institutions, reporting on usage by pages, articles, images, sessions, and session length.

6. How does the report MCD Usage Statistics organize the statistics?

This report allows the user to review statistics for specific years (by using the dropdown menu in the top right-hand corner of the report) or for specific months within those years (by clicking the "+" in the left-hand column). The report provides cumulative statistics for All Titles in a subscription, as well as individual statistics for each specific title.

7. What statistics are tracked by the report MCD Usage Statistics, and how are they counted?

TITLE-SPECIFIC PAGES VIEWED: This statistic counts every visited MCD page that is associated with a specific title, such as an A-Z list of articles included in a title, a page in an article that is part of a title, or a gallery of images that belong to a title.

ARTICLES ACCESSED: This statistic counts the number of individual articles that are viewed, regardless of how many pages are viewed within a given article. Viewing multiple pages of the same article without leaving the article does not increase the Articles Accessed statistic, but if the user accesses an article, leaves the article, and later returns to the article, the return to the article will increase the Articles Accessed statistic.

IMAGES ACCESSED: This statistic counts the number of full-sized images that are loaded for viewing by users. Small thumbnail versions of images are not counted in this statistic.

NON-TITLE SPECIFIC PAGES VIEWED: This statistic counts every visited MCD page that is not associated with a specific title, such as pages of search results that display links to content from multiple titles, pages used to browse category materials that involve multiple titles, and pages that display a gallery of images from multiple titles.

TOTAL SESSIONS: This statistic tracks the total number of times users logged in to the site at the subscribing institution, including by remote access. Sessions last for as long as the system continues to be in use. Sessions are terminated when the user logs out or when there is no activity for a period of 15 minutes. When a session is terminated because of non-activity in an IP-authenticated account, a new session is automatically started when a new user begins to use the site.

AVERAGE SESSION LENGTH: This statistic uses the length of every one of an institution's sessions to calculate the average length of an institution's sessions.

8. Why are there blank spaces in some sections of the report MCD Usage Statistics?

The statistics for Non-Title-Specific Pages Viewed, Total Sessions, and Average Session Length are all based on site-wide activities for the institution's subscription; those four statistics are not directly associated with specific titles. Therefore yearly and monthly values for those three columns only exist in the rows of statistics provided for the "Total for all titles" section of the report.

9. What are COUNTER reports?

COUNTER reports are usage reports that comply with the COUNTER Code of Practice for Books and Reference Works. COUNTER (Counting Online Usage of NeTworked Electronic Resources) is a not-for-profit standards organization whose codes and practices are advocated by the American Library Association.

10. What COUNTER reports are available?

The following three COUNTER reports are available to monitor MCD activity: (a) "Number of Successful Title Requests by Month and Title," (b) "Turnaways by Month and Title," and (c) "Total Searches and Sessions by Month and Title."

11. What information does each COUNTER report provide?

NUMBER OF SUCCESSFUL TITLE REQUESTS BY MONTH AND TITLE: This report lists all available Marshall Cavendish Digital titles and the number of times they have been accessed by the institution's account. The first row of data shows a cumulative tally for all titles, and the other rows of data list the statistics for all the individual titles. In every case, year-to-date totals are provided along with totals for each month. For the purposes of this report, a title is considered to be "accessed" only when a page of an actual article is viewed. Multiple pages of the same article do not constitute additional title requests. For example, if a user logs in to MCD and views the first three pages of the "Albatross" article and one page of the "Apple Tree" article in Animal and Plant Anatomy, it would be recorded as 2 title requests for Animal and Plant Anatomy (+1 for "Albatross"; +1 for "Apple Tree"), even though 4 pages had been viewed.

TURNAWAYS BY MONTH AND TITLE: This report is included in order to comply with the COUNTER Code, but it does not actually apply to active subscriptions to Marshall Cavendish Digital. The result is always "No records to display."

TOTAL SEARCHES AND SESSIONS BY MONTH AND TITLE: This report is a more general MCD usage report than "Title Requests" is. For the purposes of this report, a "search" involves the use of only the Quick Search tools or the Advanced Search tool. Any other use of the site, including browsing and accessing successive pages of content, does not constitute a "search." Searching for the word "Albatross" and then spending the time to read all of the multiple articles that result from the search would still constitute only 1 "search." For the purposes of this report, a "session" is any act of logging in to the MCD site. If the individual is using a user name and password to log in, then entering that information and hitting "Log In" would constitute a single session. If the individual is using automatic authentication, such as by IP address, navigating to www.marshallcavendishdigital.com from another page would constitute a single session. Sessions automatically time out if no use is detected for 15 minutes, but if the site is being continually used, a session can last indefinitely.

12. Why do I see only one COUNTER report after I've logged in and gained access to my institutional statistics?

All three COUNTER reports are displayed on the same page of the For Librarians section. To switch from one COUNTER report to another, use the dropdown menus in the top right-hand corner of the report page to change the report you are viewing or to change the year that is summarized by the report.