A Webometric Analysis of Private University Websites in Bangladesh A Webometric Analysis of Private University Websites in Bangladesh By Sajia Sultana A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Philosophy Department of Information Science and Library Management University of Dhaka, Bangladesh July 2014 S.M. Zabed Ahmed, PhD Professor and Chair Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled “A Webometric Analysis of Private university Websites in Bangladesh” submitted by Sajia Sultana, for the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in the Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka, is her original work carried out under my supervision and guidance, and is worthy of examination. Dr. S.M. Zabed Ahmed Supervisor Abstract There have been many research studies conducted on webometrics, especially on the impact of websites and the web impact factor. This current research analyzes the private university websites in Bangladesh according to some common webometrics indicators. It examines and explores 54 private university websites in Bangladesh and identifies the number of web pages and link pages, and calculates their Simple Web Impact Factor, Self-link Web Impact Factor and External link Web Impact Factor. The results indicate that some private universities have relatively high number of web pages, but correspondingly their link pages are low in number and the websites fall behind in their simple, self-link and external link web impact factors. It is also found that the external link web pages provide more than other link pages. Based on these findings, it is clear that the private universities in Bangladesh do not have much visibility on the web. In a cross sectional study, the websites are analyzed and compared using Google and Blekko search engines and tested by histogram, scatter plot and the line of best fit for reliability and then by regression analysis. The search results obtained are also compared using related t- test. This research also used SocSciBot personal web crawler to generate link data to develop micro-link topology. The result shows that the private universities in Bangladesh are not well- connected in the topology framework. Finally, the major reasons for webometric ranking are discussed and the suggestions for improving the ranking of universities are presented. To my parents and Jawad, my son Acknowledgement I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. S.M. Zabed Ahmed, Professor and Chair, Department of Information Science and Library Management, University of Dhaka. This research work would not have been possible without his contribution. I thank my Supervisor for his consistent help, sincere guidance and motivation and for making me believe in my own capabilities. I would like to convey my gratefulness to my Mother, Mrs. Sultana Begum and my Brother, Mr. Ariful Hasan whose encouragement and support have always motivated me to move forward in my life and achieve my goals. I would like to express my heartiest gratitude to my Husband, Abu Saleh Muhammad Iqbal for his support all the time and especially during my research. Table of Contents Abstract Acknowledgement Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures List of Acronyms 1. Chapter 1: Introduction 1-9 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 World Wide Web 1 1.3 Metrics on the web 2 1.4 Concept of Website Design 3 1.4.1 Website Design 4 1.5 Private Universities in Bangladesh: an overview 5 1.5.1 Introduction 5 1.5.2 Growth patterns of private universities in Bangladesh 6 1.6 Need for the study 7 1.7 Objectives 8 1.8 Scope of the study 8 1.9 Conclusion 9 2. Chapter 2: Literature Review 10-24 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Growth and Development of Webometrics 10 2.3 Web Content Analysis 12 2.4 Web Link Analysis 13 2.5 Web Technology Analysis 18 2.6 Web Impact Factor 19 2.7 Conclusion 24 3. Chapter 3: An Overview of Webometrics 25-41 3.1 Introduction 25 3.2 Webology 26 3.3 Development of Librametrics to Webometrics 26 3.4 Relationship between 5 Metric Sciences (IBSCW) 31 3.5 Methods of webometrics 33 3.5.1 Web page content analysis 33 3.5.2 Web link structure analysis 33 3.5.3 Web usage analysis 34 3.5.4 Web technology analysis: search engine performance 34 3.6 Web Impact Factor (WIF) 35 3.6.1 WIF advantages and utilities 36 3.6.2 WIF misuses and incorrect applications 37 3.7 Conclusion 41 4. Chapter 4: Research Methodology 42-46 4.1 Introduction 42 4.2 Quantum of web pages and link pages of websites of private universities 42 4.2.1 Data collection 42 4.2.2 Data collection method 42 4.3 Link Structure Analysis (WIF) of websites of private universities 43 4.3.1 Data collection 43 4.3.2 Data analysis technique 43 4.3.2.1 Calculating of Web Impact Factor 43 4.4 Private Universities Link Network 44 4.4.1 Web crawling: SocScibot 44 4.4.2 Data collection and analysis procedure 44 4.5 Regression Analysis of Variance 45 4.6 Tests for Statistical Significance 45 4.6.1 The related t-test 45 4.7 Conclusion 46 5. Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Interpretation 47-106 5.1 Introduction 47 5.2 Quantum of web pages and link pages of websites of private universities 47 5.2.1 Introduction 47 5.2.2 Distribution of web and link pages: Google (July 2012) 48 5.2.3 Distribution of web and link pages: Google (August 2013) 50 5.2.4 Distribution of web and link pages: Blekko (April 2012) 52 5.2.5 Distribution of web and link pages: Blekko (July 2012) 54 5.3 Link Structure Analysis (WIF) of websites of private universities 56 5.3.1 Introduction 56 5.3.2 Web Impact Factor (WIF) - Blekko, April 2012 56 5.3.2.1 University Ranked based on Simple WIF 56 5.3.2.2 University Ranked based on Self-link WIF 56 5.3.2.3 University Ranked based on External link WIF 56 5.3.3 Web Impact Factor (WIF) - Blekko, July 2012 57 5.3.3.1 University Ranked based on Simple WIF 57 5.3.3.2 University Ranking based on Self-link WIF 57 5.3.3.3 University Ranked based on External Link WIF 57 5.3.4 Web Impact Factor (WIF) - Google, July 2012 58 5.3.4.1 University Ranking based on Simple WIF 58 5.3.4.2 University Ranking based on Self-link WIF 58 5.3.4.3 University Ranked based on External link WIF 58 5.3.5 Web Impact Factor (WIF) - Google, August 2013 59 5.3.5.1 University Ranked based on Simple WIF 59 5.3.5.2 University Ranking based on Self-link WIF 59 5.3.5.3 University Ranked based on External link WIF 59 5.4 Private Universities Link Network 83 5.4.1 Introduction 83 5.4.2 The academic web crawler 83 5.4.3 ADM and Link Analysis for Private Universities of Bangladesh ( July 2012) 84 5.4.4 ADM and Link Analysis for Private Universities of Bangladesh (September 89 2012) 5.5 Regression Analysis of Variance 94 5.5.1 Introduction 94 5.5.2 Regression Analysis of Variance: Google (July 2012) 94 5.5.3 Regression Analysis of Variance: Google (August 2013) 96 5.5.4 Regression Analysis of Variance: Blekko (April 2012) 97 5.5.5 Regression Analysis of Variance: Blekko (July 2012) 99 5.6 Tests for Statistical Significance 100 5.6.1 Test hypotheses 100 5.6.2 The Related t-test for Google 101 5.6.2.1 The related t-test for Simple WIF between Google July 2012 and 101 August 2013 5.6.2.2 The related t-test for Self-link WIF between Google July 2012 and 102 August 2013 5.6.2.3 The related t-test for External link WIF between Google July 2012 and 103 August 2013 5.6.3 The Related t-test for Blekko 104 5.6.3.1 The related t-test for Simple WIF between Blekko April 2012 and July 104 2012 5.6.3.2 The related t-test for Self-link WIF between Blekko April 2012 and 105 July 2012 5.6.3.3 The related t-test for External link WIF between Blekko April 2012 106 and July 2012 5.7 Conclusion 106 6. Chapter 6: Discussions and Results 107-111 6.1 Introduction 107 6.2 Discussions of the result 107 6.2.1 Quantum of Web Pages and Link Pages 107 6.2.1.1 Google Search (July 2012) 107 6.2.1.2 Google Search (August 2013) 107 6.2.1.3 Blekko Search (April 2012) 108 6.2.1.4 Blekko Search (July 2012) 108 6.2.2 Link Structure Analysis (WIF) of websites of private universities 109 6.2.2.1 Blekko Search (April 2012) 109 6.2.2.2 Blekko Search (July 2012) 109 6.2.2.3 Google Search (July 2012) 110 6.2.2.4 Google Search (August 2013) 110 6.2.3 Network Link among all Private Universities in Bangladesh 111 6.2.4 Regression Analysis of Variance 111 6.2.5 The related t-test 111 6.2.6 Search Engine Ferformance 111 6.3 Conclusion 111 7. Chapter 7: Limitations, Recommendations, Directions for Future Research and 1 1 3-117 Conclusion 7.1 Introduction 113 7.2 Limitations 113 7.3 Recommendations 114 7.4 Directions for Further Research 116 7.5 Conclusion 117 References Appendix - A: List of private universities and their year of establishment Appendix - B: List of private universities and their websites (2013) Appendix - C: Fitness of Data of University Websites by Histogram Appendix - D: Fitness of Data of University Websites by Scatter Plot and Line of Best Fit List of Tables 5.2.2 Distribution of web pages of private universities sites In Bangladesh 49 (Google, July 2012) 5.2.3 Distribution of web pages of private universities sites In Bangladesh 51 (Google, August 2013) 5.2.4 Distribution of web pages of private universities sites In Bangladesh 53 (Blekko, April 2012) 5.2.5 Distribution of web pages of private universities sites In Bangladesh 55 (Google, July 2012) 5.3.2.1 Simple Web Impact Factor for private universities in Bangladesh 61 (Blekko, April 2012) 5.3.2.2 Self-link