Open Access
Future NRS
Measuring Websites
Many of the publishers represented by NRS are investing considerable effort and resource in developing different (mostly digital) platforms for reaching potential readers. Currently, NRS measures only the print versions, but in the long-term it is the survey's objective to measure the reach of all the various platforms a publisher has, individually and in combination.
As a first step, NRS will seek to establish the reach that individual publishers' Websites are currently achieving, the first industry-wide attempt at producing such a measure, which is intended to help publishers explore the commercial potential that such sites can offer. Since June 2007, the Survey has been collecting, on an experimental basis, the necessary data at the end of the standard face-to-face interview, using a new self-completion questionnaire designed for the purpose, which is given to all respondents claiming to have had any access to the Web within the last 12 months (currently around 60% of respondents). Should this prove a success, the initial findings could be available to subscribers early in 2008.