WEBOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES OF THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL WESTERN REGIONS OF BRAZIL

Abstract

This paper analyzes the size, visibility, brightness, the average density of links and web impact factor of the federal public universities in the North and Midwest in order to investigate the presence of these institutions in the network. It shows that, with technological advances, webometrics has become a product for innovation, bringing possibilities to study the interconnections in the virtual space, thus enabling the expansion of the existing correlations in this environment. The methodology for the development of the research was a literature review about webometrics and a case study of the websites of the federal public universities in the North and Midwest. The results show a very low number of interconnections in the two regions, according to the indicators of visibility and brightness. The study demonstrates that there is room for a greater connectivity between such institutions in order to increase communication between them on the web.