Here’s the final set of numbers on our analysis of DNS query logs (detailed in an earlier post).
Graph covers activity between July 3rd and December 9, 2019.
This reflects only the DNS query activity on the campus network. Mason affiliates using off-campus networks are not included in this chart.
We can assume, I think, that most activity going to SCI-HUB is all about finding content. ResearchGate also fills this role but as a social networking platform, there are other reasons for traffic to their site. We can see that ResearchGate and Google Scholar are heavily visited. What we can’t readily see is the degree to which they serve as an alternative source for otherwise restricted content.
You can download our dataset here (roughly 8 Mb): https://tinybox.gmu.edu/files/DNS-QUERY-Final.txt