Results of Terra’s reader survey
Oregon State University has now published eight issues of Terra. If you receive the printed magazine, you are among the more than 10,000 households, offices, individuals and businesses on our mailing list. You include university presidents, public officials, OSU donors, news editors and local businesses. You may send your college-aged students here, serve on advisory boards or do the teaching and conduct the research that are at the heart of this land-grant institution.
Terra’s purpose is to tell the stories behind the headlines, to bring research and creative endeavors alive. Last winter, we asked Terra readers to let us know how we’re doing. A total of 467 of you completed an online questionnaire. Here is a brief summary of some of the results.
Who replied?
- OSU alumni, 50%
- OSU faculty members, 53%
- OSU donors, 40%
- Men, 65%
- Women, 35%
- Older than 45 years old, 60%
When Terra arrives in the mail, what do readers do with it?
- Read it cover to cover, 23% (48% of donors, 27% of alumni, 18% of faculty)
- Keep all back issues, 23%
- Keep it a few days, 26%
- Keep it a few weeks, 29%
- Discard it immediately, 7%
How do readers respond?
- Find Terra enjoyable to read, 90%
- Find that Terra gives them pride in OSU, 91%
- Find that Terra increases their awareness of current OSU research, 92%
- Find that photos and illustrations enhance their understanding of OSU research, 91%
How many readers use the Terra Web site?
- 31% report that they have used the Terra Web site. (About 367,000 page views have been recorded since the site was created in 2006, an average of more than 400 per day.)
- 53% of those who use the Web site watch videos or visit the Web sites of supporting agencies.
- 76% of visitors use the site to look for more information about OSU research.
Which general topics (among OSU’s five research thematic areas) are most interesting to readers? (% who ranked the topic “most” to “very” interesting)
- Earth systems, 63%
- Natural resources, 56%
- Life sciences, 57%
- Technology and entrepreneurship, 45%
- Arts and sciences, 37%
What changes are in the works as a result of reader response?
Most readers report high satisfaction with Terra. However, the survey revealed several areas in which we can better serve our readers. They include:
- More brief, illustrated content
Many readers report that they scan the magazine. To complement in-depth feature stories, Terra will launch a new two-page department featuring brief, easy-to-scan items summarizing promising new research initiatives, updates on ongoing research projects covered in previous issues of Terra, and glimpses of the staff, students and faculty who work behind the scenes in support of OSU’s research endeavors. - More focus on the Terra Web site
Multimedia content on the Terra Web site includes audio clips and videos of researchers describing their work in their own voices and bringing greater immediacy to stories printed in the magazine. To build our online readership, we will provide our print readers with more details on how they can enhance and extend their Terra experience on the Web. In the coming year, plans for increasing Terra’s impact and distribution will focus on Web-based content.