Introduction
COUNTER, the standard-setting body for digital content usage metrics, plays an important role in the scholarly publishing industry. By defining how usage data for electronic resources is measured and reported, COUNTER ensures that libraries, publishers, and other stakeholders have a consistent benchmark for quality productions and listing.
In this endeavour, COUNTER makes timely upgrades, staying abreast of newer trends and adapting to new requirements of the dynamic audience. COUNTER recently released Version 5.1 marking further development in their efforts. This update not only refines the metrics to better accommodate diverse digital resources but also enhances the granularity and specificity of reporting, especially for Open Access content. This blog explores what’s new in COUNTER 5.1 and unpacks the latest updates, illustrating their importance in the evolving digital arena.
The Evolution of COUNTER
Since its inception in 2003, COUNTER has become synonymous with reliability in digital usage reporting. The journey began with a simple aim: to create a consistent framework that could be universally applied to measure the usage of electronic resources. Over the years, as digital content proliferated and diversified, COUNTER’s Code of Practice has undergone several revisions to stay relevant and effective.
Adapting to Changes
Approximately every five years, significant updates are implemented based on extensive feedback from the global knowledge community. These revisions are designed to address new types of digital content and changing access models, ensuring that the metrics remain robust and applicable across various platforms and media.
The Importance of Standardized Usage Metrics
Standardized metrics are vital. They provide a common language for evaluating research impact and support informed decision-making in resource allocation and strategy planning in the scholarly publishing and research domains. By ensuring that usage data is comparable across different platforms and publishers, COUNTER helps stakeholders understand and demonstrate the value of digital resources in academia and beyond.
Feedback-Driven Evolution
Release 5.1 underscores COUNTER’s dedication to responsive updates and ongoing dialogue with its user base. Developed with insights from librarians, publishers, and other stakeholders in the knowledge community, this update offers targeted refinements that enhance the usability and accuracy of digital publishing metrics. It responds to the need for more detailed data on open-access interactions and more refined usage insights, ensuring that all members of the scholarly communication process can traverse through the difficulties of digital resource consumption with accuracy and ease.
Key Drivers for Release 5.1
Optimization for Open Access
The surge in Open Access publishing has pressed the need for more precise reporting standards that can handle the nuances of freely accessible content. Release 5.1 introduces improvements that allow for a more detailed examination of how Open Access materials are utilized. These enhancements ensure that stakeholders can track and evaluate the impact of open-access publications more accurately, facilitating greater transparency and accountability in scholarly communications.
Expanded Digital Resource Coverage
As the spectrum of digital resources continues to expand—encompassing everything from traditional journals and books to multimedia and interactive databases—COUNTER 5.1 has responded by broadening the scope of its data types. This expansion is important for categorizing and measuring usage across a varied range of materials, enhancing the precision of data reported, and supporting better decision-making processes regarding digital content strategy and development.
Technical Simplifications
Release 5.1 also focuses on simplifying the previously complex areas within the reporting framework. Significant enhancements have been made to the SUSHI Harvesting Protocol and the JSON schema, aimed at reducing the complexity and improving the efficiency of data harvesting and processing. These technical improvements make it easier for report providers to comply with standards and for report consumers to integrate and utilize the data in their operational and strategic analyses.
Shift to Item-Level Reporting
Transition to More Granular Metrics
In an important shift, COUNTER 5.1 moves away from title-level metrics toward item-level reporting. This change is particularly significant for books, where previously, only the total usage of a book was tracked rather than the usage of its individual chapters. By aligning books with other content types, which already utilize item-level metrics, this update enables a more detailed and nuanced understanding of how content is consumed.
Scenario Illustration
Consider a publisher that allows chapters of a book to be downloaded individually or the entire book as a single download. Under the previous release, if a user downloaded the whole book, it would be reported as a single interaction, regardless of the number of chapters it contained. With Release 5.1, the publisher can now report each chapter’s usage independently while maintaining a consolidated count for the book. This method avoids inflating the apparent usage of the book and provides a clearer picture of actual reader engagement with the material. This granularity is important for libraries and other institutions to assess the value and impact of the content they offer.
These updates in Release 5.1 address the evolving needs of digital content providers and users, ensuring that the COUNTER standards remain a reliable and relevant tool in the arsenal of digital resource management. By focusing on these key areas, COUNTER continues to facilitate the equitable and effective distribution of information in the digital age.
Expanding Data Types for Comprehensive Coverage
Introduction of New Data Types
To address the diversification in digital content types, Release 5.1 of the COUNTER Code of Practice expands the list of data types from 14 to 28. This expansion allows for a more accurate representation of resources ranging from traditional texts to interactive databases and multimedia. By doubling the number of data classifications, COUNTER ensures that all forms of digital content are measurable in a manner that reflects their unique characteristics and user interactions, thus providing stakeholders with better data to inform their content strategies and policies.
R5 introduces Data_Types, which reflect main content groupings, to enable customizable reporting. Table below provides an extended list of Data_Types for R5.1.
To illustrate: PDFs for twelve chapters are downloaded within a single book in a single session. In R5.1 this must be reported as 12 Unique_Item_Requests and 1 Unique_Title_Request, where in R5 the same usage would be reported as 1 Unique_Item_Request and 1 Unique_Title_Request. This change has been introduced to allow more consistent reporting on the Book_Segment level in the Item Report and to facilitate accurate comparisons of usage across Data_Types, while retaining the ability to accurately compare book usage across platforms through the unique title metrics.
| Term |
Definition |
Examples |
| Data_Type |
The element identifying the type of content |
Article, Audiovisual, Book, Book_Segment, Conference, Conference_Item, Database_Aggregated, Database_AI, Database_Full, Database_Full_Item, Dataset, Image, Interactive_Resource, Journal, Multimedia, News_Item, Newspaper_Or_Newsletter, Other, Patent, Platform, Report, Reference_Item, Reference_Work, Report, Software, Sound, Standard, Thesis_Or_Dissertation, Unspecified |
Item as the Unit of Reporting
The shift to item-level reporting marks a significant evolution in how content usage is quantified. This approach is especially transformative for book metrics, where previously, the usage of an entire book was aggregated, obscuring the details of individual chapter engagements. Now, publishers can report the usage data for each chapter separately, which aligns the reporting of books with journals and other digital formats. This enhances the granularity and comparability of usage data across different types of content, allowing for more nuanced insights into user behaviour and content value.
Refining Access Types for Open Access Content
Refinement of Access Types
In adapting to the nuances of Open Access (OA), COUNTER 5.1 has refined its Access Types—Controlled, Open, and Free to Read—to better support accurate and meaningful reporting of OA content. The definitions have been adjusted to move away from any reliance on specific business models or licenses, which vary widely across publications. For instance, the revised definition of “Open” now simply requires that the content be freely available to all users on the platform at the time of access, regardless of the specific OA model or licensing terms. This broader and more inclusive definition ensures that the reporting of open-access usage is both flexible and comprehensive.
Global Item Reports
Another significant introduction in Release 5.1 is the recommendation for global item reports. These reports aim to capture the total global usage of content items, including Open Access materials, without breaking it down by institution. This approach underscores the increasing significance of Open Access as a driver for the visibility and usage of scholarly content. By aggregating global data, stakeholders can better assess the impact of OA on research dissemination and engagement, validating the claim that Open Access can significantly increase the reach and visibility of scholarly work.
Together, these changes in COUNTER 5.1 reflect a thoughtful response to the growing needs of digital publishing. By expanding data types and refining reporting standards, COUNTER continues to provide the scholarly community with the tools needed to accurately measure and understand digital content usage in an increasingly open and diverse environment.
Technical Updates in Release 5.1
JSON Schema and API Improvements
Release 5.1 introduces a comprehensive overhaul of the JSON schema, enhancing its simplicity and ensuring compliance with the latest Open API 3.1 standards. These improvements are designed to streamline the process of generating and validating reports, making them more accessible and easier to use. Additionally, upgrades to the SUSHI (Standardized Usage Statistics Harvesting Initiative) leveraging API have been implemented to enhance its robustness and usefulness, facilitating more reliable data collection and integration for users across the board.
Authentication and Endpoints
In an important shift towards more secure and modern authentication methods, Release 5.1 removes IP-based authentication for accessing SUSHI services and replaces it with API keys. This change not only aligns with current best practices in digital security but also ensures greater consistency and reliability in user authentication. Moreover, adjustments have been made to SUSHI endpoints, simplifying access to information about report availability and enhancing user understanding of content specifics, thus improving the overall user experience.
Smaller Changes and Clarifications
Components and Reporting Headers
Components in item reports are no longer mandatory when responding to feedback from libraries and publishers. This change addresses concerns about the overwhelming detail previously required, simplifying report generation and consumption. Additionally, a new element has been added to report headers—the link to the platform’s record on the COUNTER Registry of Compliant Content Providers. This inclusion enhances transparency, allowing users to easily verify the compliance status of report providers.
Report Nomenclature and Versioning
The introduction of a four-part versioning system marks a significant refinement in how updates and changes to the Code of Practice are documented and understood. This system clearly distinguishes between major updates, new features, and minor fixes, facilitating better understanding and smoother implementation of changes among users.
The Revised Audit Process
Audit Documentation and Scripts Revision
To ensure the ongoing credibility and reliability of COUNTER metrics, significant efforts have been made to clarify the audit process. Documentation has been updated and audit scripts have been revised to better reflect real-world usage patterns. These changes are designed to make audits more reflective of actual user interactions, thereby enhancing the integrity and applicability of COUNTER metrics.
Preparing for Release 5.1: A Guide for Stakeholders
Transition Steps
Tasha Mellins-Cohen, the Project Director for COUNTER, underscores the importance of thorough preparation for the transition to Release 5.1. She advises report providers and consumers to review the newly updated documentation, assess the compatibility of their current systems with the new standards, and plan necessary development work to ensure alignment. Furthermore, effective communication with customers about the transition process is important to ensure a smooth shift to the new release.
Support and Assistance
Recognizing the complexities involved in updating systems and processes to comply with Release 5.1, Mellins-Cohen offers ongoing support and is ready to assist stakeholders with any queries or clarifications they might need during this transition period. Her proactive approach in facilitating these updates underscores the commitment to maintaining the utility and reliability of COUNTER metrics as digital content continues to evolve.
These technical and procedural updates in COUNTER Release 5.1 represent a comprehensive effort to enhance the accuracy, usability, and security of digital usage metrics, ensuring they remain relevant and robust in the face of a rapidly changing digital environment.
Bottom Line
As we conclude our exploration of COUNTER Release 5.1, it’s clear that this update marks a stride forward in the field of scholarly communication. By enhancing the granularity and reliability of usage metrics and streamlining processes such as the SUSHI Harvesting Protocol and JSON schema, COUNTER continues to adapt to the evolving needs of the digital age. These improvements are technical adjustments and also part of a collective effort to advance how digital content impacts are measured and understood across the globe.
An excellent example of a practical application is Insight Vizor, which leverages COUNTER usage data to provide publishers and libraries with actionable insights into content performance and user engagement. This symbiosis of data and analysis tools like Insight Vizor exemplifies the potential of Release 5.1 to empower stakeholders with the clarity and precision needed to steer through the complex outlook of digital resources effectively.
As the community transitions to this new release, the ongoing dialogue and feedback will undoubtedly continue to shape the standard’s evolution, ensuring it remains at the leading edge of digital measurement practices.
