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University of Massachusetts Amherst
SARIS - Student Affairs Research, Information and Systems
Collegian Survey (F97-E)

Executive Summary:Almost 94% of students surveyed read the Collegian during the semester, and about half read it four or five times per week. Most pick up the paper in a classroom building, at the Dining Commons, or at the Campus Center, and almost 90% report little or no difficulty in obtaining a copy. Almost 60% would be interested in having the paper delivered to their dorm rooms. Most frequently read sections of the Collegian are the comics, campus news, national news, and sports, and overall favorite sections are comics, sports, the opinions and editorials, and campus news. Of students who read the classified ads, about one-quarter have made an inquiry or purchase through a classified, about one-third have visited a bar, restaurant or store, and about two-thirds have attended a concert or entertainment as a result of an advertisement in the Collegian.

On Wednesday, October 29, 1997, Project Pulse conducted a survey for the Daily Collegian, the UMass newspaper, designed to explore reader interests and preferences. Pulse interviewers attempted to contact 821 undergraduate students who had been randomly selected by computer from the University’s database. Of these, 499 were successfully contacted, and 421 (84.4%) agreed to be interviewed. (See Table 1 for final disposition of the sample and Table 2 for a demographic summary of the respondents.) The response rate for the survey was 51%.

Students were first asked if they had read the Collegian this semester, and 93.3% (n=346) report that they have done so (see Figure 1). Those who do read it were then asked to estimate how often they do so in a typical week. Approximately half (50.9%, n=176) say that they read it four or five times per week.

Figure 1. Student readership in a typical week

The next set of questions examined how and where students obtain copies of the paper. Most typically, students report that they pick up the paper at a classroom building (31.9%, n=11), at the Dining Commons (29.6%, n=102), or in the Campus Center (24.3%, n=84). A few collect their copies in a residence hall or other campus buildings (4.9%, n=17, each), at the Newman Center (3.8%, n=13), or at an off-campus location (0.6%, n=2). Almost nine-tenths of students (89.8%, n=309) report little or no difficulty in obtaining a copy of the Collegian when they want one. When asked where they would prefer to obtain the paper, 67 students specified the Dining Commons, 60 listed dorms, 29 preferred classroom buildings, and a variety of other sites received fewer than ten mentions each. Students who live on campus were asked if they would be interested in having the Collegian delivered to their rooms before 8 a.m., and 59.5% (n=144) are somewhat or very interested in this service.

Pulse interviewers asked students how frequently they read specific sections of the Collegian (see Figure 2). The sections students report reading every day are, in order of popularity, the comics (26.6%, n=92), campus news (24.3%, n=83), national news (20.9%, n=72), sports (18.8%, n=65), classified ads (15.6%, n=54), arts and entertainment (11.6%, n=40), crossword puzzle (8.7%, n=30), and five-college calendar (6.1%, n=21). Women are twice as likely as men to report that they do not read the sports section in an average week (67.6% v. 32.4%, p=.0000), and men are significantly more likely than women to report that they do not do the crossword in an average week (60.4% v. 39.6%, p=.0014).

Interviewers explored how satisfied students are with various portions of the paper (see Figure 3). Over 90% of students express satisfaction with the campus news and the arts and entertainment sections of the Collegian, and over 80% are satisfied with the sports and national news coverage. Women are more likely than men to express satisfaction with the national news (87.4% v. 75.7%, p=.0080) and with the arts and entertainment coverage (94.9% v. 87.8%, p=.0325).

Approximately one-quarter of the respondents who report reading the classified ads (26.2%, n=62) have made an inquiry or purchase through them, and 71.3% (n=169) are aware that they can purchase classified ads at the Collegian distribution stand on the Campus Center Concourse. Of students who read the classified ads, about one-third say that they have visited a restaurant or bar (31.4%, n=69) or a store (34.2%, n=78), and about two-thirds have attended a concert or other entertainment (63.2%, n=144), as a result of seeing an advertisement in the Collegian.

Figure 2. Student readership of sections of the Collegian

Figure 3. Student satisfaction with sections of the Collegian
(percent reporting very or somewhat satisfied)

In an open-ended question, students were asked to indicate their overall favorite section of the Collegian (see Figure 4). Once again the comics rate highest, at 23.9% (n=79) of students preferring them. Sports coverage is the favorite of 18.5% (n=61) of respondents, followed by opinion and editorials (12.7%, n=42), campus and local news (10.9%, n=36), and arts and living (9.1%, n=30). Eleven different sections were the favorite of at least 1% of the respondents.

Figure 4. Students’ overall favorite section of the Collegian

The next set of questions asked about how frequently respondents read local newspapers other than the Collegian. The Boston Globe is the most popular, with 34.5% of students (n=127) reporting that they read it at least once a week. The Union News, including The Sunday Republican, is read by 15.8% of students (n=58) at least once each week, and The Daily Hampshire Gazette by 12.5% of students (n=45).

Another potential source of information is the Internet or World Wide Web. When asked how many times per week they use the Internet, over two-thirds of students (67.1%) report that they use it between once a day and once a week (see Figure 5). Thirty-six percent of women (n=63) and 20.1% of men (n=39) report that they do not use the Internet (p=.0363). Only 14.4% of respondents have ever purchased anything over the Internet: 19.1% (n=37) of men and 9.2% (n=16) of women have made such a purchase (p=.0071).

Figure 5. Students’ self-report of times per week on the Internet

Item-by-Item