JAVS Summer 1997

39

1997 REpORT ON THE SURVEY OF THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ViOLA SOCIETY READERSHIP

by Ronn Andrusco *

Findings/Results/Limitations There were 159 completed questionnaires received. This represents about a 20% re sponse rate from the AVS membership. The results presented reflect the collective answers given by those respondents to the question naire. It is not possible to project findings from the survey onto the total AVS men1ber ship with any degree of confidence since there was no attempt to follow up with nonrespon dents. However, analysis of the results indi cates direction that is applicable to the future planning of ]AVS in order to better serve the AVS membership. ]AVS RATING SCALE 82% of respondents rated ]AVS as excellent or very good, 140/0 percent as average, and only 1 % as fair. At least 500/0 of respondents wanted more information in ]AVS content areas of Feature Articles, Viola Pedagogy, About Violists, and Interviews. About 330/0 of respondents wanted more informa tion in New Works, Recordings, and Announcements. 360/0 of respondents wanted less information in the Minutes of AVS Board Meetings, 200/0 wanted less information on New Acquisitions in PIVA, and 130/0 wanted less information on From the President and Chapters. 830/0 of respondents rated ]AVS informa tion as Very Valuable or Valuable, 150/0 rated it as Slightly Valuable and less than 1 % rated it as Of Little Value. The top two ]AVS areas mentioned the most by respondents were Feature Articles and Pedagogy.

Editor's Note: The results of the survey in their entirety are not printed here. Rather, that infor mation judged ofmost interest to AVS members appears. In the next issue ofJAVS, the editor, Dr. David Dalton, will reply to comments and inquiries that were submitted by respondents. Executive Summary 820/0 of the respondents rated ]AVS as very good or excellent. 83% of the respondents rated ]AVS informa tion at very valuable or valuable. 420/0 of respondents feel the primary function of ]AVS is to inform, stimulate, and en lighten, while communication and a sense of unity and community are sec ondary functions. 84% of respondents keep ]AVS for reference. 84% of respondents thoroughly read each issue or read some articles in detail. 89% of respondents indicated they would subscribe to ]AVS if articles were available on the Internet. Respondents desire more feature articles and interviews and more coverage of viola peda gogy, and about violists. Feature articles and pedagogy are the top fea tures enjoyed by respondents. About 500/0 of respondents suggested some changes to ]AVS. Viola and bow maker articles and regular pedagogy articles were the most frequently suggested additions to ]AVS. 76% of respondents refer to ]AVS when seek ing a service or product. 670/0 of respondents have made contact with a ]AVS advertiser. 45% of the respondents are both teachers and professional musicians.

*The findings and opinions expressed in this study are solely those ofthe author. This report, therefore, does not necessarily represent the editorialpolicies or positions ofthe Journal of the American Viola Society, and no official endorsement should be inferred.