The Mandela Portal – an assessment of global visitors using Web analytics
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to perform a longitudinal assessment of the visitors to the Mandela Portal using Web analytics over a period of seven years, between 2009 and 2015.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on Web analytics methodology that consists of a four-step process and utilises the first and second steps with data collected using Google Analytics.
Findings
The research process found a number of trends relating to the Portal’s visitors, including changes in the ranking of countries from which the visitors accessed the website as well as the variety of language settings in the Web browsers. It identified some issues both with the Google Analytics tool and broader implications on the trustworthiness of data.
Originality/value
This paper provides an analysis of Web visitors to the Mandela Portal, offering trends that are only possible when viewed over a long period. It also explores issues of data trustworthiness.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author was a staff member at the NMF for a period of five years from 2005 and contributed to the development of the Mandela Portal. The author gratefully acknowledges the thoughtful readings of previous iterations of the article by Lee Davies, Verne Harris and Sello Hatang. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and should neither be attributed to his current employer, the International Atomic Energy Agency, nor any of his previous employers, including the NMF.
Citation
Katuu, S. (2016), "The Mandela Portal – an assessment of global visitors using Web analytics", Digital Library Perspectives, Vol. 32 No. 4, pp. 270-286. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLP-01-2016-0002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited