Reference at Newman Library

SRDS Access Has Become Quirky

SRDS recently changed the interface for their database that is unlike most others. When you try to connect, it looks like you’re unable to access the database, as the search box is not visible at first. The trick is that you now have to click the purple “Log In” button in the top right corner of the screen.

Log In button in SRDS

Once you do that, you are “logged in” even though you didn’t get prompted to type in any user name or password. The search screen is made visible in the right middle part of the interface after you’ve clicked the “Log In” button.

Search box after logging in

Please note that if you are off campus, you’ll still first see Baruch’s EZproxy login page (AKA, our “remote authentication” page) before you get to this quirky new SRDS landing page.

 

Part of the SRDS Database Only Works in Internet Explorer

Most of the SRDS database works in all browsers, but a portion of the content–the Local Market Audience Analyst–will only work in Internet Explorer:

SRDS screenshot

 

If you are using Internet Explorer 9, then this portion will work with no problem. If you are using Internet Explorer 10, then you’ll have to go into the “Tools” menu in the browser to make a change to the “Compatibility view settings.” These screenshots walk you through the change you need to make:

Step 1: Click “Tools” from the menu bar in the browser (if the menu bar isn’t showing, just hit ALT-T on the keyboard to make it visible).

Step 1 of web compatibility view settings

Step 2: From the list of commands, select “Compatibility View settings”

Step2 - select Compatibility View settings

Step 3: Type “claritas.com” in the box and click the “Add” button

Step 3 - Type claritas.com in the box and click the Add button

Step 4: Make sure claritas.com now appears in the large box and then click “Close.”

Step 4: Make sure claritas.com now appears in the large box and then click "Close."

 

That should fix the problem for the time you are working in the database. If you close the window, though, and then come back later to the database, you will likely have to re-enter these settings again.

SRDS is aware of this issue and is likely working on a fix for it.

 

Website Analytics from Compete and Nielsen

If a student is looking for analytical data on the website for a magazine or newspaper, they might find what they are looking for in SRDS, which now has data from Nielsen NetView as well as Compete (data from the latter has been in SRDS for a while). A recent email from the SRDS rep included this description of what metrics are included from Nielsen:

Digital listings for media tracked by Nielsen’s online audience measurement service (also known as NetView) now include the following data:

Unique Audience
Total Sessions
Page Views
Total Minutes
Sessions/Person
Time/Person

Netview data is derived from a panel of 200,000+ consumers, and consists of users at home and non-shared-work locations. All users have a meter downloaded to their computer that tracks online and offline desktop usage.