Performance and visibility of Indian Research Institutions on the web.

Purpose -- This study aims to examine the performance of Indian research Institutions' websites using webometrics by investigating their visibility, traffic ranks, number of links, time on site, Indian/Foreign users and page ranks besides focusing on the two designed hypotheses. Design/methodology/approach -- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) directory (www.csir.res.in/external/heads/aboutcsir/lab%5Fdirectory.htm) is used to identify the research institutions in India. The directory lists 40 research institutions across India. However, Alexa did not offer required information for some of the websites due to very high traffic ranks, and accordingly the list is reduced to 21 research institutions. The data collected were analysed and tabulated to reveal findings in accordance with the desired objectives. Findings -- The results reveal that global traffic ranks, number of page views, number of links and time on site of Indian research institutions are low. However, the page ranks are to some extent satisfactory. The traffic ranks of Indian research institutions differ significantly, whereas no major difference in the page ranks is found. Further, the results show that Indian research institutions' websites have not been able to attract foreign visitors given the calibre and reputation of these institutions. Originality/value -- The results of this study will be useful for website administrators of research institutions in India and across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]