The Research Information Network has released E-journals: Their Use, Value and Impact—Final Report.
Here's an excerpt:
The objectives for this second phase of the study were:
- to establish a deeper understanding of what lies behind the patterns of use and information-seeking behaviour portrayed in the logs to answer questions such as:
- why do users spend so little time on each visit?
- why do researchers use gateway sites?
- why do few researchers use advanced searching?
- do high levels of use imply high levels of user satisfaction?
- to investigate reasons for the diversity in information-seeking behaviour and usage shown in the logs, especially with regard to research status and seniority, institutional size and research strength, and subject or discipline.
- to determine how online searching and use of e-journals relates to researchers' general behaviour in seeking and using information, and to scholarly and research workflows.
- to investigate further the relationships between levels of expenditure on journals, levels of use, and research outcomes (e.g., does good e-journal provision drive research outcomes, or do libraries benefit from the additional revenue that research success creates?).
- to analyse any trends in author referencing behaviour over a long period, and to investigate whether these have changed alongside the development of easier access to scholarly literature.
