URL Decay at Year 20: A Research Note

All text is ephemeral. Some texts are more ephemeral than others. The web has proved to be among the most ephemeral and changing of information vehicles. The research note revisits Koehler's original data set after about 20 years since it was first collected. By late 2013, the number of URLs responding to a query had fallen to 1.6% of the original sample. A query of the 6 remaining URLs in February 2015 showed only 2 still responding

Methods for estimating the size of Google Scholar

The emergence of academic search engines (mainly Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Search) that aspire to index the entirety of current academic knowledge has revived and increased interest in the size of the academic web. The main objective of this paper is to propose various methods to estimate the current size (number of indexed documents) of Google Scholar (May 2014) and to determine its validity, precision and reliability. To do this, we present, apply and discuss three empirical methods: an external estimate based on empirical studies of Google Scholar coverage, and two internal estimate methods based on direct, empty and absurd queries, respectively. The results, despite providing disparate values, place the estimated size of Google Scholar at around 160 to 165 million documents. However, all the methods show considerable limitations and uncertainties due to inconsistencies in the Google Scholar search functionalities.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures and 6 tables. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1407.623

Institutional Repositories in New Zealand: An Analysis of Coordinators’ Perspectives

This study is a small scale qualitative survey of coordinators working in institutional repository development in New Zealand since critical mass was reached in 2009. It aims to summarise their opinions on the current and future roles of their repository as both a preservation archive, and a discovery resource representing their institution’s research community. The research uses narrative development techniques within the interpretivist paradigm to provide a contextual analysis of the repository’s relationship with other repositories and the National Library. It is supported by quantitative analysis of the sampled repositories’ holdings and the metadata quality with which the holdings are endowed. The analysis finds that since the establishment of New Zealand repositories, coordinators have adapted their collection strategies to encourage depositors towards Open Access publishing. These findings are placed in the context of the growth of non-mandated repository holdings and the technical infrastructure for harvesting resources, and integrating workflows with university research management systems. The results are used to discuss the goals coordinators have for improving the efficiency and visibility of their repository

La presencia de los países árabes en Internet: un análisis a través de sus indicadores tecnológicos y de sus universidades

Little research has been carried out on the presence of the Arab countries on the Internet, which goes to prove that the presence of the Arab world in the Web in general and of these countries’ universities, in particular, is still at an emergent stage. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the presence of the aforementioned countries on the Internet in 2009 by the application of two types of indicators: technological indicators, which reveal the development of each country and the general evolution of Arab States; and webometric indicators, which allow to ascertain the presence and quality of the universities of the Arab world on the Internet. In particular, the countries under analysis herein are those in the Middle East and North Africa (i.e. the MENA region) and the websites of their universities. The findings and conclusions of this research project reveal that, although the financial situation of the countries is an influential factor in explaining their presence on the Web and the quality of their universities, this element must not be considered isolated, as other factors, such as population and the social, political or cultural opening of these countries, also have an impact on them. Furthermore, in the last years there has been an overall positive evolution of Arab States in respect of their technology.Apenas existen investigaciones sobre los países árabes en Internet, por lo que la presencia del mundo árabe en la Web, en general, y de sus universidades, en particular, aún está por descubrir. Por ello, el objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la presencia de dichos países en Internet aplicando dos tipos de indicadores: tecnológicos, que reflejen la situación detallada de cada país y la evolución general sufrida por el conjunto de los Estados Árabes; y webmétricos de análisis de características, que muestren la presencia y calidad de las universidades del mundo árabe en Internet. En concreto, se analizan los países árabes y los sitios web de las universidades de Oriente Medio y Norte de África (Zona MENA). Los resultados obtenidos y las conclusiones derivadas al respecto demuestran que, si bien el factor económico de los países influye en la presencia de los mismos en la Red y en la calidad de sus universidades, no debe analizarse de forma aislada puesto que otros factores como la población y la apertura sociopolítica o cultural de los países también repercuten en su presencia en Internet. Así mismo, en los últimos años, se ha observado una evolución general positiva de los Estados Árabes con respecto a su tecnología