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Survey Proves Useful in Learning About

Members

By Kammie Richter

Seeking members’ input is an important part of leadership in DKG. In this article, Editorial Board
member Dr. Kammie Richter describes use of a survey to garner members’ perceptions of a state
organization publication and the additional insights that survey provided.

ommunicating with members is a key challenge in Delta Kappa Gamma, and
Cmany hours of thought and preparation go into various publications at the
chapter, state organization, and international levels. What do members think about
the publications they receive, and how often do they use these resources?
In December 2022, I created a survey asking all Illinois State Organization (ILSO)
members about the state organization publication, the DKG Illinois Newscaster, and
other facets of Society communication. The research was undertaken basically for
financial reasons, as the majority of members receive the newsletter via mail—a
more costly option than digital distribution.
A great deal of information was gathered from members’ responses to the
survey. The focus was on how ILSO could improve its publications and generate
interest in our organization. The following summarizes data from the 386 respondents
(20.31%) of the 1,900 who had email addresses on file.

Regarding the respondents and participation:
• 71% are retired educators.
• 39.9% have taken advantage of leadership opportunities through DKG.
• 68.4% would not consider being an officer or a chair.
• 40.7% rarely attend conventions and thus would not attend a writing session
if offered.
• 59.1% rarely search for any DKG International articles and blogs.
• 49% only read one or two articles from the Collegial Exchange when it is
mailed to them.
• 47.2% were excited about the changes in the ILSO website.
• 45.1% go to the ILSO website to print out registration forms.

Regarding what would make members more interested in attending
DKG functions (top three comments):
• 28.2% desire less sitting and more time moving at events or meetings.
• 24.9% want monthly meetings held online with chapter events held in person
four times per year.
• 11.7% want less time spent in meetings.

Regarding how respondents see the Newscaster now:
• 78.8% receive the Newscaster via snail mail.
• 53.4% prefer the hard copy rather than digital.
• 75.1% have never written an article for the Newscaster.
• 45.3% read the Newscaster from front to back.

Educators’ Choice 63