Data Usage Metrics

bar chart depicting growth in number of users from 2004-2014

This graph shows the total number of people who downloaded data and documentation from DSDR in each year from 2007 to 2017. The number of DSDR's unique users has increased steadily every year.

Please note that because there are users who return to download data in multiple years, the sum of users for all years does not equal the total number of unique data users. Additionally, DSDR tracks each data user with either an email address or an IP address. A user's IP address can change over time, and DSDR is not able to account for this. Therefore, there is some uncertainty in these numbers, and the above graph should be considered an estimate rather than an exact count.

There is a great deal of variation between studies in terms of data usage. For example, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) accounts for a large proportion of DSDR data downloads over time, while some other studies have been in relatively low demand. Study-specific usage statistics are available by selecting the "Usage Report" link from the study home page.

D S D R study with link to Usage Report circled

The resulting data usage report provides several summary statistics, including information on:

  • Date of release and last update (if applicable)
  • Related publications
  • Downloads
  • Website sessions
  • Total and unique users by user classification
View example Usage Report