November 2004 Readership Survey – Summary
In November 2004, some of our readers of ENGINEERING OUR WORLD completed a short survey, providing their input and opinions about the e-newsletter.
Among our findings, we learned that there is strong interest in coverage of a variety of areas with energy and environment of interest to a majority (67% and over 50%, respectively), followed by health issues, robotics, space exploration, ethical issues in engineering, and defense/security (each nearing 50%).
Most of our respondents indicated general satisfaction with the informativeness and format of the e-newsletter. More than half picked "4" or "5" on a 5-point scale ("5" indicating that the respondent finds the e-newsletter "very informative"). Similarly, over 50% liked the current format (one main article by the Dean, plus newslinks); of the respondents indicating a preference for a different format, the greatest preference was for short updates on the School's initatives, omitting the major article.
Regarding the medium selected for providing information from the MIT School of Engineering, respondents evidenced a 2 to 1 general preference for electronic rather than print newsletters. However, they also split almost evenly on their preference between reading an email text version and reading an HTML web version of the e-newsletter. Our survey takers indicated little interest in having a printable version made available from the web page.
Answers to open-ended questions on the survey provided us with a wide range of opinions on the e-newsletter, the School of Engineering, MIT as a whole, and even on individuals' relationships with MIT as alums.
We greatly appreciate this input and will take it into account as we plan upcoming editions of the e-newsletter. Look for coverage of leading areas of interest starting in late Spring.
Thank you to all who offered feedback!