Web Site Data Analysis

Introduction

In order to develop and improve the quality of the central Aberystwyth University web site*, web site, usage data is collected and analyzed. Some of this data is collected by the web server (the computer that holds the web site) and some is collected using tracking cookies** that are sent to the web browser of each web site visitor.

Tracking Cookies

The use of cookies to track web site usage is a widely used and well established technique. Each tracking cookie provides information to show how a visitor moves from page to page, but no personal data is stored by the tracking system. The tracking system used on the central Aberystwyth University web site is called Google Analytics.

Data collected by tracking cookies on the central web site is used primarily by the Web Team, but also by the Marketing Department. On occasion it is made available to other members of staff within the institution. As the service provider Google also has access to the data (for more information visit the Google Privacy Policy web page).

Rejecting Cookies

On the central web site it is possible to set up your preferences to reject tracking cookies. To do this visit the Site Preferences web page and tick the box labelled “Do not collect data via Google Analytics”.

Alternatively can set up your web browser to reject all cookies. If you decide to do this you will still be able to use the central Aberystwyth University web site, but some non-essential functionality will be lost (e.g. user preferences will not be retained). The documentation for your web browser will provide you with instructions on how to disable cookies.

* Web pages on the central Aberystwyth University web site can be distinguished by URLs that start with http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ or http://www.aber.ac.uk/cy/. The only exception to this is the language choice page which has the URL http://www.aber.ac.uk/

** A cookie is a small piece of information in the form of a text file, sent by a web server and stored on the computer of a visitor to a web site. It can then be read back later by the web server when required.