Institutional Repositories: Investigating User Groups and Comparative 
Evaluation Using Link Analysis., 2009 MSc Thesis thesis, University of 
the West of England. [Thesis]
Wells, Paul

Full text available: http://eprints.rclis.org/16519/
Alternative Locations: http://institutionalrepositoryusers.googlepages.com/

Abstract(s)

The aim of this investigation was to look at user groups of 
institutional repositories. Past research on repository users has 
focused on authors and depositors at the expense of other users, and 
little is known about what types of user groups are associated with 
institutional repositories. This investigation used the research 
techniques of link analysis and content analysis to investigate links to 
institutional repository websites and determine what types of user 
groups are using repositories. These techniques were also examined for 
their use in providing a comparative evaluation of institutional 
repositories. After an initial pilot study, four UK institutional 
repositories were selected for investigation. A link analysis was 
carried out using dedicated software. The results of the link analysis 
were then subjected to a content analysis to provide additional context. 
The findings of the research were able to partially answer the research 
questions. Using link analysis alone it was not possible to gather 
detailed enough data to identify distinct user groups. When combined 
with content analysis, broad user groups were identifiable. The user 
groups shown in the results included those identified elsewhere in the 
literature, such as authors, academics and repository administrators. In 
addition, there was evidence of use by teaching and research related 
users, professional and public users. It was found that link analysis of 
institutional repositories was not suitable for comparative analysis, as 
results were more closely linked with the age of the repository than 
other factors. The results sample available for content analysis was 
found to be too small to produce suitable results for comparative 
evaluation, although a larger sample size would be able to overcome this 
in any further studies.

Fuente: http://eprints.rclis.org/16519/
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