The 2007 IWCA Membership Survey

     In the fall of 2007 your IWCA board of directors undertook a bold project to find out a bit more about our Irish Wolfhound Club of America membership using a survey.  The Survey Committee developed a questionnaire through which we hoped to discover if members participate in activities with their Irish Wolfhounds; how many we keep at our homes; how we classify ourselves as breeders or enthusiasts and/or just the owner of a great companion etc.  We also sought to gather some demographic information to learn about a “typical” IWCA member.   A third goal was to establish an IWCA volunteer databank; in order to tap into the rich and diverse talents of our club members for IWCA projects and club events.   

     The surveys, returned with last year’s dues, are still being analyzed,  We’re mining them to uncover more insights into our membership; identify the types of interests members have that will allow us to improve the programs the Club offers in the future, and to better meet the needs of our members.   

     All answers to the twenty-three question survey were translated into three or four digit numbers (coded) to allow for easier data analysis.   Each answer to each question on the 355 surveys were then keyed into a massive MS Excel spreadsheet.  The coding of the survey sheets alone took nearly eight weeks of four-hour evenings.   Analyzing the huge dataset is continuing.  Thanks to Dr. Caren Carney for volunteering to lend her expertise in the interpretation of the scores and rows and columns of the coded raw numbers.

     Instead of having to wait until the final full survey analysis was completed, we pulled a subset of demographic information and stripped out the volunteer info obtained from the survey.  We have used the volunteer information to create a databank and have supplied the clubs committee chairs with the lists of talents and areas of expertise generating the name banks by category/skills and activities represented another 40+ hours of volunteer time.  If you volunteered on the survey and have not heard from the committee chair (they are listed elsewhere on this website) call and ask if you can help with a project.

    We have converted the PowerPoint presentation of the initial results of survey committee presented to the board of directors at last April’s 2008 Board meeting in Plano Texas into a slide show.  The presentation was put together from raw data that could be skimmed from a very quick look at the returned survey sheets; it is a topline analysis. It’s a fairly clear thumbnail sketch of some basic demographics and observations of the IWCA membership.

     Thanks to our committee with out whom this project could not have been conducted, they are: Jackie Carswell, Eileen Flanagan, Dr. Caren Carney, Marypat Corbett, Carolyn Purvis, Judy Simon, Jill Bregy, Donna Drake, Cathy Heintz and Patty Newgard.

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