SAB NewsSite Satisfaction Survey Results: A Healthy Mix of Your Criticism and PraisePosted 7/29/2003 As we review the results from our Site Satisfaction survey, I would like to personally thank members of The Science Advisory Board who shared their opinions and experiences with us. Over 1,200 individuals took part in the survey, representing nearly 9% of our entire membership. I was thrilled with this outstanding response rate! Your comments will be instrumental in helping my staff and I tailor The Science Advisory Board website so that it continues to meet your professional needs. “Your survey has triggered my interest in exploring the website more.” -JAYHOWARDL Physician North America Since its inception six years ago, The Science Advisory Board has been the central hub of biomedical and life science information on the Internet. Nearly two-thirds of our membership visits The Science Advisory Board website for reasons other than participating in a study. The Science Advisory Board produces a wide range of outstanding content based upon contributions from its diverse membership representing 62 countries. This content includes profiles of scientists and medical professionals in the Member Spotlight column; book, website and product reviews; discussions on science, medical and policy issues in the Discussion Forum; editorials on cutting edge or controversial topics in the Perspectives column; and job and curricula vitae postings. Over 80% of the survey respondents are satisfied with this content and 85% are happy with the ease by which they navigate through it. That’s great news! Furthermore, 60% of members are frequently able to find content related to their specific interests. Our most popular section of the website is that devoted to resources including Biomedical News, Links, Databases, Book Reviews, Product Reviews, Job Postings, Resume/CV Postings, and Product Announcements.  (click to see full-size graph) Overall rating of The Science Advisory Board Website We plan on making our website even better. Some of the ideas that we’re considering are included in quotes from Science Advisory Board members cited below. “Keep an ever open email suggestions box.” -RTVF Professor Europe Members told us that the Studies section is one of our more popular features because they appreciate getting feedback on the opinions and insights that they voiced. “Feedback is a good idea, although perhaps impossible to implement, as is email flagging of results. I have been invited to participate in quite a few studies that are already closed when I try and connect to them, which is frustrating. This happens even when the study is only a few days old (i.e. in surveys where almost the entire SAB membership is polled). Perhaps an allowance for time zones could be made so that a wider number of people could have “first crack” at responding. Also, studies where several questions are answered successfully that suddenly kick you out (because the respondent doesn’t use the technique or purchase the reagent(s) in question) are very, very annoying.” -Richard Wintle, Ph.D. Steering Committee Member Toronto, Canada We regularly share the results of the studies you participate in through Study Snapshots, which provide a summary of key findings and a monthly Snapshots newsletter, which highlights study data. We promise to work towards streamlining the process by which members are invited to studies to accommodate better our international members. We’ve recently added a new feature, Snapshots Live, which is a teleconference members participate in to discuss the results of the studies with our in-house team of analysts. “I have been saying all along, every time I have had a chance, that you, guys, are doing an excellent job contributing very substantially to creating a truly global scientific community. The broad range of tools and means to communicate with peers, share one's views and experiences and expand one's horizon, both scientific and personal, all available from the single scienceboard.net site, renders it indispensable in my daily life. Your activities and ideas are filling the void in creative scientific interaction, which is vital to our happy and productive exploration. I personally love participating in teleconferences you have just started, I learn straight-to-the-point talk, and save tons of time from useful tips and advice. Thank you so very much for the very stimulating and refreshing experiences on board of scienceboard.net!” -anuta Staff Scientist North America Another well-liked feature of The Science Advisory Board website is the Community section where members can learn more about one another through Member Spotlights and Perspectives. In this section, we plan on featuring more of what you’d like to see—editorials on recent scientific discoveries, “How-to” guides (i.e., “Finding a job in industry”) and overviews of technology. The Discussion Forum continues to be very popular. Members indicated that the most interesting topic folders are Protocol Reviews, Bio Kits and Reagents and Biomedical News & Views.  (click to see full-size graph) Discussion Forum topics ranked by level of interest They appreciate the opportunity to exchange ideas, ask for advice, and discuss scientifically- and medically-related issues with one another. I also think that the camaraderie that has been built up among our most frequent posters has facilitated an even more open and engaging interchange than seen on other discussion boards. “A better discussion forum with visible threads indented for replies. I prefer to follow a discussion that is completely visible with new postings marked as "new". Also would like to see more technology discussion about findings, yield improvement, what works for others, etc. in biotechnology area.” -don242 Laboratory Technician North America “A change in presentation style of the discussion forum would help - a bit more detail on content of the threads etc. Also a few guideline notes on content - even for some of the scientific discussions a lot of unnecessary repetition or plain bantering comment could be disposed of. Not that one wants to dampen the discussion but to have to trawl through it to find the useful bits does waste valuable time.” -Kevster Staff Scientist Europe Another area that will undergo construction as a consequence of your feedback is the Biomedical News and Updates section in order to provide you with improved access to the latest scientific and medical news. We will be going straight to institutions and companies to obtain information on recent discoveries and breakthroughs in a wide variety of biomedical disciplines as opposed to just relying on a single news service. This change will provide more timely and comprehensive updates. “The Science Advisory Board has to be complimented for what they have accomplished. The web site is technically great (although it has some problems with the newest browser from Apple, the Safari Browser). I am confident that these problems will be fixed in a very short time--because they maintain excellence with the web site. I think that most people are like me, they want something when they go to a web site. Usually they want information. The easier it is to search and sort through the information on a site, the more often I visit it (I go to those sites first when I have a problem). I do not generally visit a site to kill time and chat. I would encourage cataloguing information and making it easy to access would help the site. Also, providing links to other sites is always helpful (but takes time, because the addresses of the other sites frequently change). Finally, the latest news in science should be summarized. It is nice to read short summaries of an idea. This is a great way to stimulate thoughts and feedback.” -Reinisch Principal Investigator Australasia/Pacific We’re also reviewing a number of ways to encourage your increased participation on the website. For instance, many members indicated that they would be interested in receiving a monthly email containing recommended readings tailored to their interests. This book list would help encourage them to write book reviews for our website. “Book reviews have been very helpful! I'm not so sure about database review pages, which I feel are not as organised as they could be.” -Greebo Research Assistant Europe Those members interested in obtaining a new position stated that they would like us to send them a batch e-mail with job openings that match their search criteria. In turn, these individuals would be more likely to post their resume in our Professional Resources section. “I would like to see a greatly expanded jobs section, for both job postings and resume postings. It does seem quite limited at this time. Very few people seem to be participating in this feature, so it is not the first place I would look for a new posting. This is a tough one, kinda of a chicken and the egg scenario - the more interest this area receives, the easier it will be for more people to get interested.” -BIOMANxDWD Staff Scientist North America Members also thought that having the option to subscribe to a weekly digest of discussions that match their pre-set criteria would most encourage them to post in the Discussion Forum. We’re also investigating the possibility of obtaining free samples of kits and reagents for you to evaluate and then write a Product Review. “I would prefer to see more stringent guidelines for the product reviews. Many are just blurbs that one could find on a company's Website. I hazard to guess, however, that many people, including myself, really want to know details that are not normally provided about that product on company web-sites, and what a user really thinks about it in terms of advantages, disadvantages, cost, etc. All of these should be speaking points for people writing product reviews.” -jethrod1 Principal Investigator North America We also received a tremendous amount of positive feedback regarding some of the new features we have considered introducing over the coming year. Members seem quite enthusiastic about the creation of “Special Interest Groups,” which would allow them to participate in special activities (e.g., studies, listservs, teleconferences, etc.) related to their research or clinical interests. Other popular ideas include a “Mail This Page” feature that would allow you to mail a specific article, review, link, etc. to a friend or colleague and a “Classifieds” section where you could post scientific items for sale, equipment needed, items available for donation. There was a great amount of support for a “Letter To The Editor Section” where you could share comments, suggestions and feedback with your peers on Science Advisory Board-activities and events. In addition to the intrinsic value our members perceive in sharing their insights on the tools and technologies that are transforming science and medicine, they also are rewarded for their contributions through the receipt of ViewPoints, which can be redeemed for items in our online gift catalog. Almost 80% of our membership, however, has not redeemed their points and nearly a quarter of you did not even know you had ViewPoints. “First let me start off by saying that I have enjoyed being a member of your organization. Thank you. My first suggestion is that, it would be nice to have a ViewPoints catalog that doesn't change. For a long time I was saving up for an item that was in the old catalog and then it was changed and this idem is no longer available. What happened? Maybe in the future keep the old catalog for members who are already a member and just add the new catalog. Then with new members give them only the new catalog. This way people who are saving their ViewPoints for a special idem do not loose out. Just a suggestion. Secondly, maybe award old timers like myself with more ViewPoints since we have more experience in science and with your web site? Thirdly, thank you again for doing such a wonderful job. Keep up the great work!!!” -RPM Graduate Student North America To increase members’ awareness of this tangible reward, we plan to institute monthly promotions whereby you can redeem your ViewPoints for special items including SAB logo items. “I want our members to know how important their opinions are to realizing the mission of The Science Advisory Board: to improve communications between medical and life science professionals and the companies who provide this community with products and services,” affirms Tamara Zemlo, Ph.D., MPH, Director of Scientific & Medical Communications for The Science Advisory Board, “we will use the results of The Science Advisory Board Site Satisfaction Survey to enhance the website and rewards system in a way that best meets the evolving needs of our members.” |
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