A Comparison of Users Data in Retention and Disposition Processes in an Internet Website: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel as a Case Study

In our appraisal of the English website of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we took into account the manner in which Israeli government ministries conduct their records management. However, due to the unique characteristics of internet websites, special parameters are needed, such as harvesting and user behavior. We conducted a functional analysis of user behavior on the MASHAV subsite and the “Foreign Policy” division of the ministry’s website, using the “About Israel” division as a control unit for comparison. Since MASHAV provides information and services to users, it is possible to use the retention periods set in the Archives Law 5715–1955 for some of its parts. “Foreign Policy” is an informative division whose documents are replaced according to changing event. In all three, we examined and analyzed the number of users and the length of time spent on the site during each access. The comparison was done for February and October 2014, and for the total year. The results show that in the “Foreign Policy” and “About Israel” divisions the number of users was greater than in MASHAV and fluctuated depending on the circumstances and events, while users remained in the MASHAV subsite for longer periods of time.