The impact of websites on historiography. A quantitative analysis of a case study

di Tito Menzani
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 33 (2010), p. 179

For over a decade, in Italy, the cooperative movement has returned to being of interest to the historians of the contemporary age, in particular those focused on business history. The gradual transfer of this study subject from the socio-political sphere to the more specifically economic-entrepreneurial one has undoubtedly revitalized attention onto this corporate typology and on its networks. It is also true, though, that historical research in this field of investigation has been able to benefit from the ever more efficient and articulated help of two web sites such as www.cooperazione.net and www.movimentocooperativo.it, which have permitted a significant qualitative and quantitative increase in historiographic production. In this contribution, we propose to associate the scientific production in question with the effective use of the sites by the scholars, to verify to what extent they were an influence during historical research. Key words: Cooperative movement, Historical websites, Historiography, Quantitative analysis, Scientific output, Internet impact