Market Research : Opthalmology Journals Readership Study

Abstract

Market research is an important tool in the current information society. At the American Medical Association, the Division of Market Research satisfies the research demands of the association. This Senior Individualized Project presents a study based on the Archives of Ophthalmology, a monthly journal published by the American Medical Association. This study is conducted by AMA's Department of Survey Research, Division of Market Research for AMA's Department of Specialty Journal Marketing Services. The study is used to identify physicians' perception of Archives of Ophthalmology in comparison to that of its competitors: American Journal of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surgery News, Ophthalmology, and Ophthalmology Times. The topics which the survey focused on included: readership information; perception of the publication; unique needs the publication serves; effectiveness of the advertisements in the publication; and the characteristics of the physicians' practice. The key findings of the study include: 1. Archives of Ophthalmology is read by the largest percentage of the surveyed physicians and is perceived positively by physicians in general ophthalmology; 2. The publication needs to include a section updating physicians on American Academy of Ophthalmology activities; 3. The articles should be less detailed; 4. The information should provide more practical application. While working at the American Medical Association, I worked in various areas of market research such as data collection, data analysis and reporting of the data. During my internship I was responsible for: Generating graphs of the Pediatrics Journals Readership Study and the Ophthalmology Journals Readership Study; Assisting the research manager in the preparation of the report for the Pediatric Journals Readership Study; Writing the report for the Ophthalmology Journals Readership Study under the supervision of the Department Director; Performing data analysis for several other studies.