Metrics¶
This section discusses the various metrics available to you as a YDJ journal.
"How many readers does my journal have?"
Readership statistics found in OJS appear to be much higher than web analytics traffic recorded by Matomo: see this thread in the PKP Forums for a brief but inconclusive discussion of this disparity.
Based on a partial and unscientific comparison conducted in May 2026, YDJ estimates that readership stats derived from OJS are 6x higher than those from Matomo. Due to methodological differences between the tools and due to technical challenges in identifying and filtering for bot traffic (compounded by rapid uptake of AI tools), it's impossible to give precise numbers for real readership. The "real" number is likely in the range between the Matomo numbers and the OJS numbers, and likely closer to the Matomo numbers.
OJS article and editorial stats¶
Info
Last updated: August 24, 2026 for OJS 3.5
OJS offers robust statistical reporting tools for article views and downloads and for editorial activity. You can learn about OJS’ built-in statistics reports in PKP's Learning OJS guide. This comment in the PKP Forums describes the calculation of statistics that appear on the Editorial Activity page.
Web analytics¶
Info
Last updated: August 24, 2026 for OJS 3.5
Analytics packages only provide statistics as of the date of their implementation. YDJ cannot provide retroactive statistics for periods where web analytics were not configured or were not working properly.
Matomo¶
YUL has implemented a locally-hosted instance of Matomo for all journals as an alternative to Google Analytics. As of late 2023, Matomo has been configured for all YDJ publications. YDJ does not currently have standardized reporting procedures: if you would like to request stats from Matomo, please contact YDJ.
Google Analytics¶
Some YDJ journals created in OJS prior to 2019 used Google Analytics Universal Analytics, which was shut down in 2024. YDJ no longer maintains Google Analytics accounts for journals and has replaced the service with Matomo.
Altmetric Explorer¶
Info
Last updated: March 3, 2022 for OJS 3.3.0.8
YDJ journals have access to altmetric data through YUL’s subscription to Altmetric Explorer. York-affiliated editors can access Altmetric Explorer directly. Editors without a York University affiliation can request reports for their journal by contacting YDJ.
In order to get altmetric data for your journal in Altmetric Explorer, your journal must:
- Receive DOIs, and
- Be tracked by Altmetric.
The Digital Publishing Librarian can make sure that your journal is tracked by Altmetric.
At present, there is no functional integration of Altmetric Explorer and OJS. This means that it isn’t possible to display data from Altmetric on your journal’s OJS site.