CaltechDATA tracks aggregate visits to a record page and downloads of files. We follow the COUNTER Code of Practice for Research Data Usage Metrics to define usage of our data files. Our reported statistics include only unique access, which is one or more downloads or views of content within a 1-hour time-window.
All usage tracking is via JavaScript using Matomo, so our usage statistics definitely undercount actual usage. Automated downloads from applications like curl or individuals who disable JavaScript manually or via an ad blocker are not included. Research has shown this may be up to 60% of repository usage. We hope to capture more of this usage in the future.
Matomo provides the software and hosts our usage statistics application on behalf of Caltech Library. Caltech Library shares aggregate usage statistics with DataCite which are available as standard Usage Reports and via the DataCite search service. We do not share raw usage statistics with third parties, and do not connect usage with individual logins.
