AAPG Home : Member Survey of 2006 : Executive Summary

Exploring Member Attitudes in 2006

Results of a Quantitative Member Survey

Executive Summary

Following is an executive summary of the survey results. Readers of this report also should refer to the detailed charts, graphs and narrative in other sections of this report to gain a complete understanding of the results.

Overall Satisfaction

More than 70 percent of members report their levels of satisfaction as “extremely satisfied” or “very satisfied” While there has a slight drop from the 2003 survey results in “5” ratings and a small increase in “4” ratings, the results are excellent.

Membership Importance Factors

Members were asked to report the perceived level of importance to their membership of items in two areas: general factors and services. In the area of general factors, professionalism and networking were deemed the most important factors with the Explorer, the Bulletin and special publications being the most important factors in terms of services.

AAPG Brand Name

Members were asked about the use of the word “American” in the AAPG name. In total, members opted not to remove “American” from the name. However, the majority of all non-American groups indicated they would prefer to drop “American.”

Sponsorship Changes

Members indicated they do not think the 2 sponsor change has compromised the AAPG’s membership standards.

Members indicated, by a small margin, that they believe that 15 years of industry experience should substitute for one member sponsor.

Dues Increases

About 57 percent of those responding did not feel a dues increase was justified. Of those who did feel an increase was justified, pricing thresholds began to display negativity at the $100 level. Regarding graduated dues, members were mixed in general regarding their support for a graduated dues structure. Those who supported such a structure felt it should be based on age, economics, industry and academic discounts.

Voting Rights

Members indicated they felt that voting rights are an important part of their membership, with a dissenting or undecided group of about 46 percent. If a graduated dues structure were instituted, members felt that full voting rights should be afforded to all members.

VP International

Members supported including a vice president-international regions on the Executive Committee, with a significant portion saying they did not vote on this matter.

Petition Candidates

Members either did not support or were unsure of their position regarding increasing the number of signatures required to place a candidate on the ballot. Those who felt the number should be increased indicated the quantity required should fall into the 100 - 200 range.

Regarding whether signatures should come from outside the candidate’s region, members were somewhat mixed in their responses, with a large undetermined group.

Professional Liability

When asked if an AAPG professional Liability insurance program would be appealing, most members said, “no.”

HQ Service

Many members have contacted AAPG Headquarters in the past year and the majority were satisfied with the service received (94 percent).

The Bulletin

The Bulletin continues to enjoy good readership and a positive level of satisfaction in terms of quality and content. E&P notes ranked number one in terms of usefulness while the annual report section rated last in terms of usefulness. The majority were not willing to pay extra to obtain paper copies of the Bulletin.

Special Publications

Many have purchased special publications and cost is the primary reason reported for non-purchase, as it was in 2003. Less than one-half of the respondents indicated an interest in less-expensive publication formats.

The Explorer

The Explorer continues to enjoy extremely high readership. In terms of timeliness, most reported that Explorer articles are very timely. When asked about the quality of articles the majority felt the articles are either “good” or “excellent.” Readers presented mixed views as to whether the format should be altered to incorporate technical survey information.

Continuing Education

Most respondents have not participated in a continuing education (CE) offering. This may represent an area of opportunity for the AAPG to stimulate usage. Overall, 2-3 days and $100 - $249 appear to be the desired length and cost of a course with a large group indicating a preference for online course offerings. Location and cost are the primary factors, outside of topic and instructor, for members attending a course and most preferred daytime courses.

Distinguished Lectures

The majority of respondents had not attended a Distinguished Lecture in the past year, perhaps pointing out an opportunity to increase utilization of these events. Of those who have attended, most offered very positive ratings regarding their experiences.

Website

About 90 percent of respondents have visited the AAPG website and most felt it is easy to navigate. This has increased from 70 percent as reported in the 2003 survey.

Government Affairs / Public Outreach

Most respondents feel the AAPG should be active, very active or extremely active in informing the public regarding geoscience and energy issues. The same holds true for informing the US government about technical issues.

Conventions

About 60 percent of the respondents have attended a convention in the past 3 years and indicated that the technical program, location and networking were the most important factors when considering attendance.

Age & Tenure

While AAPG has experienced some growth in terms of younger members, the bulk of the membership is continuing to age. Therefore, new member recruitment must be a major focus of the AAPG as well as retention of older members, if present member levels are to be maintained.

For a complete discussion of the study results, please refer to the following sections.

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