2009
Mid-Atlantic American Academy of Religion –
Results
of Membership Survey
1. Have
you ever attended a Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) conference? (132 responses)
Yes 56 42.4%
No 76 57.6%
2. In what year(s) did you attend? (50 responses)
2009 17 34.0%
2008 16 32.0%
2007 17 34.0%
2006 10 20.0%
2005 8 16.0%
2004 6 12.0%
2003 10 20.0%
2002 5 10.0%
2001 5 10.0%
Earlier years 16 32.0%
3.
How valuable was the conference? Please use a scale of 1 (no value) to 5 (very
valuable). (49 responses)
1 0 0.0%
2 11 22.4%
3 20 40.8%
4 13 26.5%
5 5 10.2%
Average = 3.24
4. What factors contribute
to your decision as to whether or not to attend a conference? Please use a
scale of 1 (does not contribute to the decision) to 5 (contributes heavily to
the decision). (98 responses)
|
|
1 (least) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (most) |
Rating |
Response |
|
Registration costs |
26.0% (25) |
15.6% (15) |
30.2% (29) |
16.7% (16) |
11.5% (11) |
2.72 |
96 |
|
Conference location |
9.3% (9) |
8.2% (8) |
17.5% (17) |
34.0% (33) |
30.9% (30) |
3.69 |
97 |
|
Quality of presenters |
6.2% (6) |
4.1% (4) |
28.9% (28) |
35.1% (34) |
25.8% (25) |
3.70 |
97 |
|
Reputation of the conference |
21.1% (20) |
13.7% (13) |
35.8% (34) |
18.9% (18) |
10.5% (10) |
2.84 |
95 |
|
Conference accommodations |
22.9% (22) |
32.3% (31) |
31.3% (30) |
10.4% (10) |
3.1% (3) |
2.39 |
96 |
|
Presentation types (i.e.,
workshops vs. panels) |
22.1% (21) |
26.3% (25) |
28.4% (27) |
18.9% (18) |
4.2% (4) |
2.57 |
95 |
|
Institutional support for
conference |
20.2% (19) |
14.9% (14) |
19.1% (18) |
24.5% (23) |
21.3% (20) |
3.12 |
94 |
|
Ability to publish paper in
conference proceedings |
26.0% (25) |
17.7% (17) |
30.2% (29) |
10.4% (10) |
15.6% (15) |
2.72 |
96 |
5. Our advance registration fee for
presenters for the 2009 MAR-AAR conference was $50, and our onsite registration
fee was $55. Do you find these to be reasonable fees for the conference? (102 responses)
Yes 96 94.1%
No 6 5.9%
6. Would you be willing to pay $75 to attend
our conference? (99 responses)
Yes 46 46.5%
No 53 53.5%
7. Our next conference will be held in
New Brunswick, NJ. Do you find this location to be an attractive one? (98 responses)
Yes 65 66.3%
No 33 33.7%
|
8. What conference accommodations/amenities would be most
attractive to you? Please use a scale of 1 (not at all attractive) to 5
(very attractive). (96 responses) |
|||||||
|
|
1 (least) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (most) |
Rating |
Response |
|
Well-published senior scholars |
1.1% (1) |
4.2% (4) |
11.6% (11) |
40.0% (38) |
43.2% (41) |
4.20 |
95 |
|
High-profile public figures in the
area of religious studies |
9.5% (9) |
14.7% (14) |
21.1% (20) |
26.3% (25) |
28.4% (27) |
3.49 |
95 |
|
Faculty members presenting new
research interests |
0.0% (0) |
5.3% (5) |
18.9% (18) |
45.3% (43) |
30.5% (29) |
4.01 |
95 |
|
Advanced doctoral students
presenting research and seeking feedback |
5.3% (5) |
17.9% (17) |
33.7% (32) |
24.2% (23) |
18.9% (18) |
3.34 |
95 |
|
Faculty members presenting
effective teaching techniques and pedagogical models |
12.6% (12) |
23.2% (22) |
21.1% (20) |
35.8% (34) |
7.4% (7) |
3.02 |
95 |
|
Professional development leaders
(i.e., workshops focused on enhancing skills; topics may range from writing
for publication to transformative learning) |
23.2% (22) |
16.8% (16) |
20.0% (19) |
29.5% (28) |
10.5% (10) |
2.87 |
95 |
9. How highly regarded is the MAR-AAR?
Please use a scale of 1 (not highly regarded) to 5 (very highly regarded). (83 responses)
1 1 1.2%
2 23 27.7%
3 42 50.6%
4 15 18.1%
5 2 2.4%
Rating Average = 2.93
10. Which of the
following session types do you find most engaging? Please use a scale of 1
(not at all engaging) to 5 (very engaging). (91 responses) |
|||||||
|
|
1 (least) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (most) |
Rating |
Response |
|
Interactive workshops |
14.6% (13) |
21.3% (19) |
32.6% (29) |
20.2% (18) |
11.2% (10) |
2.92 |
89 |
|
Presentations of research with a
question and answer period |
0.0% (0) |
4.5% (4) |
13.5% (12) |
47.2% (42) |
34.8% (31) |
4.12 |
89 |
|
Panel presentations |
0.0% (0) |
11.0% (10) |
23.1% (21) |
44.0% (40) |
22.0% (20) |
3.77 |
91 |
11. Have you ever responded to the
MAR-AAR call for papers? (93 responses)
Yes 33 35.5%
No 60 64.5%
|
12. What would make you
more likely to respond to the call? Please use a scale of 1 (not very likely
to make me respond) to 5 (very likely to make me respond). (85 responses) |
|||||||
|
|
1 (least) |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 (most) |
Rating |
Response |
|
More time between issuing of the
call and the submission date |
24.1% (20) |
9.6% (8) |
26.5% (22) |
19.3% (16) |
20.5% (17) |
3.02 |
83 |
|
More areas of interest or sections |
7.2% (6) |
4.8% (4) |
27.7% (23) |
31.3% (26) |
28.9% (24) |
3.70 |
83 |
|
A blind review process |
27.8% (22) |
17.7% (14) |
36.7% (29) |
12.7% (10) |
5.1% (4) |
2.49 |
79 |
|
Publication of conference
proceedings |
15.7% (13) |
6.0% (5) |
15.7% (13) |
30.1% (25) |
32.5% (27) |
3.58 |
83 |
13.
Would you be interested in participating in structured mentoring for graduate
students at the regional meeting? (90
responses)
Yes, as a student 16 17.8%
Yes,
as a mentor 19 21.1%
No 55 61.1%
14. Gender (90 responses)
Male 51 56.7%
Female 38 42.2%
Other 1 1.1%
15. Are you a student? (91 responses)
Yes 28 30.8%
No 63 69.2%
16. If you are a student, at what
level are you studying? (28 responses)
Undergraduate 1 3.6%
Master’s
Level 5 17.9%
Doctoral
Level 22 78.6%
17. Are you currently employed? (90 responses)
Yes 78 86.7%
No 12 13.3%
18. If employed, how are you
employed? (79 responses)
Full-time 54 68.4%
Part-time 25 31.6%
19. If employed, are you currently
employed as a college or university faculty member? (78 responses)
Yes 56 71.8%
No 22 28.2%
20. If employed as a college or university faculty member, which of the
following best describes your position? (54
responses)
Tenure track 33 61.1%
Visiting
or non-tenure track 4 7.4%
Adjunct 17 31.5%