Members Rate MRS Services High, Surveys Show
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Members Rate MRS Services High, Surveys Show The Materials Research Society recently undertook its first membership surveys to gain a sensé of the importance members place on various aspects of MRS activities and to obtain baseline data for planning future MRS projects. Two separate but similar questionnaires were distributed to ail MRS members in the fall of 1989 and to first-time members in 1990. The results of thèse surveys indicate a highly positive member perception of MRS meetings and publications as a whole, but suggest the need for improvement in some areas. The results also confirm that most MRS members join the Society through MRS meeting attendance and that conférence programming will, therefore, continue to play a major rôle in maintaining the growth of the Society. The gênerai membership survey, distributed in October and December of 1989 to ail 9,200 MRS members, drew 1,981 responses—a 22% return rate. The newmember survey, distributed last August to 3,650 first-year members, drew 710 responses or a 19% return rate (i.e., 7% of the total 1990 MRS membership of 10,438). Although the first survey attempted to gauge overall member opinion and the second one polled an important subset of the MRS membership, a number of survey questions were essentially the same, and the results pointed to similar conclusions. How Members Join MRS More than 58% of the respondents to the fuU membership survey reported that they joined MRS through meeting attendance, with more than 66% of the first-timers reporting likewise. The results clearly show that the MRS policy of granting complimentary membership to meeting registrants is the major factor in building MRS membership. Although 14% of members in the full membership survey and 18% in the new member survey joined the Society in response to direct mail promotions (with similar numbers joining at the suggestion of a colleague), the Society's most successful membership-building strategy has been and continues to be through meeting programming. MRS Publications Both survey groups responded quite favorably to the question, "Are you satisfied overall with the scope of MRS publications?" In each survey, the positive response was better than 86%. The MRS Bulletin fared even better in member perception, with 87% of the full survey respondents and 91% of the first-time
members reporting that they usually find and the MRS Bulletin ranked highest in imsomething worth reading in each issue. In portance with most respondents. Publicathe 1989 survey, 94% of the respondents tions discounts, the membership directory, also said that the Bulletin has the "right and discounts on meetings and short technical level" and 82% said it is "useful course registrations tended to be regarded forstudents." as of "average" importance. Interestingly Journal of Materials Research is held in highenough, voting rights in MRS élections tended to be ranked as the least important esteem by MRS members, but it still has of ail the current benefits. room to grow. Of the respondents to the full-membership surv
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