IEEE All Society Research Project: 2003 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Research coordinated by IEEE Research Corporate Strategy and Communications

Overview of Project

l In February 2003, Society presidents endorsed a research project that would, for the first time, survey all IEEE Societies. This project was named, “IEEE All Society Research Project.” l The project was coordinated by Elena Gerstmann, Director, IEEE Research. l Each Society appointed a point of contact (poc) to work on this project. l The Socpoc team, via , oversaw the processes. This team included one person from each Society, a staff member from RAD, a staff member from TAD, and the two-person IEEE Research staff.

Goals l The goals of this project were to provide each Society with membership information in order to: l Plan for the future l Measure membership satisfaction with each Society and IEEE l Develop strategies for membership growth & retention l Assess the value and importance of existing programs and services (publications, conferences, websites, etc.) and of membership, in general l Highlight “hot” content areas l Determine membership demographics (employment status, industry, years of professional experience, etc.)

Methodology - Questionnaire l Questionnaire development l The Socpoc team came to a consensus on the format and wording of a template questionnaire. l This template questionnaire provided a framework for each Society’s questionnaire. l The template contained both standard questions that were the same for all Societies and questions that could be customized by each Society. l Each Society representative customized the questionnaire for his or her own Society.

Methodology – Sample l Sample l The population of members that could have been selected for participation were Higher grade Society members (Associates, Fellows, Members, Senior Members; no Life members or Students) with an address on file (approximately 88% of IEEE members have an address on file) l 1,200 members were randomly selected per Society l A sampling plan was developed that assured that a member would only receive one questionnaire regardless of how many Society memberships she or he held. l Comparisons between the randomly drawn sample and the populations were made to ensure representative samples

Methodology – Data Collection l Data collection began in early June ) Society Presidents had an option of sending an message to the sample informing them of the survey 2) The Director of Research, Elena Gerstmann, sent an invitation to each sample explaining the project along with the URL to the Society’s web survey 3) Approximately 14 days after the initial message was sent, a reminder was sent. This message thanked those who had already completed the survey and encouraged those who hadn’t completed it to do so. l An additional sample of 1,800 IEEE non-Society members received was sent a similar survey

Response Rate for IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society l A total of 371 IEEE NPSS members responded to the questionnaire l Estimating that 1,100 invitations were delivered, the response rate was 34% l Assuming these responses constitute a representative sample because the sample was randomly drawn and was representative of the population of IEEE NPSS members with addresses l the margin-of-error is within ±4.8% with a 95% degree of confidence

Detailed Findings

Membership

Please select the main reasons why you maintain membership in the IEEE NPSS. (Select up to three that apply.)

ChoiceCountPercent of Sample To obtain technical information and resources % To meet and interact with others who share my professional interests (networking) % To obtain NPSS publications (paper and/or electronic) % To receive discounts on NPSS conferences fees4712.7% To serve as a volunteer (for example, write or review articles, speak at conferences or serve on committees) % To contribute to my profession9124.5% To keep myself informed of the advancements in my field % To attend local chapter activities51.3% To get access to continuing education opportunities61.6% Other, please specify113.0%

Please indicate how well you feel NPSS is providing opportunities and services in each of these areas. (Select one for each item.)

TopicVery well 1 234Very poorly 5 Not aware /No opinion Technical information and resources Opportunities to meet and interact with others who share my professional interests (networking) NPSS publications (paper and/or electronic) Discounts on NPSS conference fees Opportunities to volunteer (for example, write or review articles, speak at conferences or serve on committees) Ability to contribute to my profession Informed of the advancements in my field Local chapter activities Continuing education opportunities

Overall, how satisfied are you with your NPSS and IEEE memberships? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicHighly satisfied 1 234Highly dissatisfied 5 IEEE NPSS Membership IEEE Membership

Would you recommend NPSS membership and IEEE membership to a colleague? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicDefinitely would recommend it 1 234Definitely would NOT recommend it 5 IEEE NPSS Membership IEEE Membership

The next time your NPSS and IEEE memberships are up for renewal, do you plan to renew? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicDefinitely will renew 1 234Definitely will NOT renew 5 IEEE NPSS Membership IEEE Membership

Does your employer currently pay or reimburse you for your membership dues? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicAllPartNone IEEE NPSS Membership IEEE Membership

Website and Educational Opportunities

How often do you visit the following websites? (Choose one for each item.)

Topic11+ times a month 4 to 10 times a month 1 to 3 times a month Less than once a month Aware of, but never visited Not aware IEEE Web site IEEE NPSS Web site IEEE Xplore® Other professional associations‘ Web sites General search engines (for example, Google, Yahoo, etc.)

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Choose one for each item.)

Conferences

Number of Conferences Attended l How many technical conferences, meetings, or workshops do you attend in a typical two-year period? Mean=3.39; Median=3; Mode=2; Range = 0 to 40 l If you attend conferences in a typical two-year period, please indicate their sponsorship. l Sponsored or cosponsored by NPSS Mean=.99; Median=1; Mode=1; Range = 0 to 4 l Sponsored or cosponsored by another IEEE Society (not NPSS) Mean=.73; Median=0; Mode=0; Range = 0 to 18 l Not sponsored or cosponsored by IEEE or an IEEE Society Mean=2.32; Median=2; Mode=1; Range = 0 to 38 l Conferences that I am unsure who sponsors Mean=.35; Median=0; Mode=0; Range = 0 to 6

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Choose one for each item.) TopicCompletely agree 1 234Completely disagree 5 No opinion My employer provides adequate training to maintain my skills in my professional field The IEEE NPSS provides adequate products and services to maintain my skills in my professional field I have access to enough information to maintain my skills in my professional field from sources other than my employer and NPSS NPSS should offer more educational opportunities via the Internet NPSS should offer more educational opportunities via CD- ROM/DVD

Below are major conferences sponsored or co-sponsored by NPSS. How useful are these to you? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicExtremely useful 1 234Not at all useful 5 I am familiar but cannot rate it I am NOT familiar with this conference IEEE Nuclear & Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) IEEE International Conference on Plasma Sciences (ICOPS) IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference(NSS/MIC) IEEE Particle Accelerator Conference (PAC) IEEE Real Time Conference (RT) IEEE Symposium of Fusion Engineering (SOFE) International Conference on Accelerator and Large- Experimental Apparatus Control System (ICALEPCS)

Publications

Below are major publications sponsored or co-sponsored by IEEE or IEEE NPSS. How useful are these to you? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicExtremely useful 1 234Not at all useful 5 I am familiar but cannot rate it I am NOT familiar with this publication IEEE Spectrum The Institute IEEE NPSS Newsletter IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging IEEE Sensors Journal

Have you read the following publications in the last two years? (Choose one for each item.)

TopicYes, I have readNo, I have not read IEEE Spectrum34820 The Institute27094 IEEE NPSS Newsletter30559 IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging IEEE Sensors Journal33331

Please indicate your level of satisfaction with the following elements of the IEEE Transactions On Nuclear Science. (Choose one for each item.) (Only asked of those who indicated they read this publication.)

TopicHighly satisfied 1 234Highly dissatisfied 5 No opinion Relevance of content to my professional needs Level of content Quality of articles Timeliness of content Breadth of topics covered Authors of the articles Quality of design and layout

Content Coverage

Indicate the amount of content coverage in the following areas you would like to see in NPSS publications, conferences, products and services. (Choose one for each item.)

TopicMuch more content More content Same amount receiving now Less content No content No opinion Applications in Plasma science Radiation effects Radiation Instrumentation Computer applications in NPSS Fusion Engineering Pulsed power devices and technology Particle Accelerator science and technology Nuclear medicine and imaging Standards in nuclear and plasma science Issues related to managing people Career advancement assistance Improving your technical writing skills Management/entrepreneurial topics More practical application of technology

IEEE NPSS Chapters

Have you participated in a local chapter of the IEEE NPSS Society in the past two years?

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Yes236.2% No, there is no local chapter4010.8% No, and I do not know if there is a local chapter % No, I know a local chapter exists, but I do not attend %

Volunteering for IEEE NPSS

Before you read the above, how familiar were you with the different ways to volunteer for NPSS? (Please check one.) Volunteers lead the IEEE NPSS at many levels and in many ways - including, among others, · Top-level leadership on the Administrative Committee (AdCom) of the Society · Serving on local committees (for example, Chapter officers) · Serving on international committees · Editing or reviewing articles · Participating in standards development or balloting · Organizing conferences

Before you read the above, how familiar were you with the different ways to volunteer for NPSS? (Please check one.) ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Very familiar7319.8% Somewhat familiar % Somewhat not familiar7019.0% Not at all familiar %

Do you currently volunteer for IEEE NPSS?

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Yes, I currently serve as a volunteer % No, but I have in the past5815.8% No, I have not served as a volunteer %

Overall, how satisfied are you with your current volunteer activities? (Asked only of those who indicated they currently volunteer.)

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Highly satisfied % % % 443.8% Highly dissatisfied 521.9%

Overall how satisfied were you with your volunteer activities? (Asked only of those who indicated they currently do not volunteer but they did in the past.)

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Highly satisfied % % % 411.9% Highly dissatisfied 523.8%

Demographics

Years of Professional Experience l Average = l Median = 23 l Mode = 30 l Range = 0 to 55

What is your age?

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered 30 or under205.4% 31 to % 41 to % 51 to % 61 to % Over % Decline to answer41.1%

Identify the highest educational degree you hold. (Choose one.)

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Some college10.3% Vocational/technical degree/certification (less than a baccalaureate degree) 30.8% Baccalaureate or equivalent267.0% Masters/graduate/professional degree % Doctorate or equivalent % Other, please specify41.1%

Indicate all of the fields in which you hold a degree. (Choose all that apply.)

ChoiceCountPercent of Sample Electrical or electronics engineering % Applied physics % Particle physics4211.3% Computer science/engineering236.2% Mathematics297.8% Biomedical physics349.2% Nuclear engineering3810.2% Nuclear chemistry20.5% Plasma physics5815.6% Medicine30.8% Astrophysics41.1% Other, please specify8823.7%

Identify the category that best describes your current employer type. (Choose one.)

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Private industry % Public/government8021.7% Educational institution (private or public) % Nonprofit institution (non educational) 143.8% Self-employed/consulting164.3% Retired92.4% Unemployed20.5% Full-time student00.0% Other, please specify92.4%

Please indicate your IEEE Grade. (Please note that Life membership is a status of membership but not a grade.)

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Student00.0% Associate267.0% Member % Senior Member5715.4% Fellow184.9%

Please indicate your IEEE Region.

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Regions 1 to 6 (United States) % Region 7 (Canada)113.0% Region 8 (Europe, Middle East, Africa) % Region 9 (Latin America)41.1% Region 10 (Asia and Pacific)328.7%

Including your membership in NPSS, how many IEEE Societies do you currently belong to?

ChoiceCountPercentage Answered 1, just NPSS % % % % 5 or more92.4%

Do you consider NPSS to be your primary IEEE Society? (Asked only of those who indicated they belonged to more than one IEEE Society.)

Do you consider NPSS to be your primary IEEE Society? ChoiceCountPercentage Answered Yes, NPSS is my primary Society % No, another IEEE Society is my primary Society %