» Server logs
» Introduction
Since abandoning the NetStats service, the Rutgers Writing Program
has relied on an analysis of the server log files provided by the
university for numerical and statistical data on site visits.
All servers keep log files recording page requests, and a number of
software packages are available to translate this raw data into numerical
and graphical form. Two of the most popular such packages are Webalizer
and Analog (see sidebar). Often, web hosts--institutional and otherwise--provide
these software services and make the resulting reports available to
users at no extra charge. At Rutgers, the Research Computing Initiative
(RCI), which hosts all departmental pages, uses Webalizer, and the
generated traffic reports are publicly available.
Like NetStats, Webalizer provides a convincing numerical assessment
of a web site's success. These reports provides daily average and
monthly totals for traffic as well more detailed information, including
the most requested pages, search terms used in locating the site,
and IP and browser information for visitors. Though the Webalizer
reports aren't as implicitly narrative in nature as the NetStats
reports (which traced individual users through the site), they remain
a rich source of data for assessing the program web site.
And, again, the resulting assessment is clearly legible to funding
sources. After hearing that our site was getting over 500,000 hits
each month, for example, Hewlett-Packard approached us
about possible grants. These statistics have also contributed to
the Rutgers Writing Program receiving approximately $250,000 from
Rutgers over the course of two funding rounds for instructional
computing.
These reports are also a useful assessment for a more local audience--ourselves.
We're able to see which directories of the site receive the most
traffic, and these directories are often the ones with the pedagogical
resources we designed for students to use. Moreover, as we added
new course resources, we found that their directories, too, rose
in the rankings. When we build it, they come.
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