BMJ Online questionnaire July 2007

This year's questionnaire ran for a week from 13 July. It is the ninth such questionnaire we've conducted since 1997, except that all previous ones were conducted in November – the middle of the busiest academic term in the northern hemisphere. Midsummer coincides with lowest visitor numbers of the year.

The difference in month is likely to be important and probably explains the proportional decline in numbers of medical student visitors (see especially Table 5).

Estimated response rate to the questionnaire continues to fall (See Table 1).

The proportion of "lay" users (patients, carers, public) have nearly doubled since the Nov 2004 questionnaire (to 11%).

The proportion of visitors to the site who are visiting for the first time continues to increase and now stands at one third (presumably mainly due to Google). Nearly half the visitors (42% of doctors) say they are looking for a specific article.

Table 1

Nov 2001 Nov 2002 Nov 2003 Nov 2004 July 2007
No of completed questionnaires 65798 69744 89954 82982 81060
No of distinct hosts among
Questionnaire respondents		 47313 50111 62113 58213 56354
Ratio of individuals to distinct hosts 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Total no of distinct hosts accessing site
during week of questionnaire		 82171 92991 149 334 161 431 212 636
% increase over previous year (annualised) 23% 13% 61% 8% 11%
Total no of individuals accessing site
during questionnaire (estimate)		 114 274 129 424 209 068 230 118 305 857
Response rate (estimate) 58% 54% 43% 36% 26%
Table 2 - Which category of visitor best describes you? [Numbers(%)]
Visitor category 2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
Medically qualified doctor 25938
(39)		 27660
(40)		 34696
(39)		 31001
(37)		 28975
(36)
Medical student 7020
(11)		 7417
(11)		 8338
(9)		 7736
(9)		 6126
(8)
Nurse or nursing student See
Other		 See
Other		 7325
(8)		 7554
(9)		 7359
(9)
Other healthcare professional
or student		 10764
(16)		 11236
(16)		 12088
(13)		 11926
(14)		 10043
(12)
Academic researcher 8437
(13)		 9081
(13)		 10368
(12)		 9467
(11)		 9503
(12)
Pharma employee 1650
(3)		 1798
(3)		 2142
(2)		 1944
(2)		 2272
(3)
Librarian 1604
(2)		 1514
(2)		 1971
(2)		 1785
(2)		 1505
(2)
Patient or patient support group 1151
(2)		 1224
(2)		 1879
(2)		 1554
(2)		 4022
(5)
Member of the public 2588
(4)		 2878
(4)		 3872
(4)		 3326
(4)		 5144
(6)
Press 939
(1)		 877
(1)		 1120
(1)		 967
(1)		 1146
(1)
Other 5707
(9)		 6059
(9)		 6155
(7)		 5722
(7)		 4965
(6)
Total 65798
(100)		 69744
(100)		 89954
(100)		 82982
(100)		 81060
(100)
Table 3 - Medically qualified doctors (all)
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
Primary  (all) 6494
(25)		 7100
(26)		 9015
(26)		 8316
(27)		 12781
(44)
Primary (senior grade) - - - - 9077
(31)
Primary (doctor in training) - - - - 3704
(13)
Secondary (all) 15926
(61)		 16789
(61)		 20972
(60)		 18571
(60)		 12672
(44)
Secondary senior 9144
(35)		 9987
(36)		 11820
(34)		 11027
(36)		 7579
(26)
Secondary junior 6772
(26)		 6802
(25)		 9152
(26)		 7544
(24)		 5093
(18)
Other 3528
(14)		 3771
(14)		 4709
(14)		 4114
(13)		 3522
(12)
Total 25938
(100)		 27660
(100)		 34696
(100)		 31001
(100)		 28975
(100)
Table 4 - In which country do you live?
Country 2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
United Kingdom 25503
(39)		 25026
(36)		 34234
(38)		 29141
(35)		 22209
(27)
United States 11039
(17)		 11495
(16)		 15888
(18)		 16389
(20)		 19107
(24)
Canada 3414
(5)		 3182
(5)		 3736
(4)		 3947
(5)		 3338
(4)
Australia 3474
(5)		 3732
(5)		 4453
(5)		 4180
(5)		 4576
(6)
Germany 1411
(2)		 1228
(2)		 1411
(2)		 1402
(2)		 1230
(2)
India 1320
(2)		 1144
(2)		 1700
(2)		 1090
(1)		 2762
(3)
Italy 1689
(3)		 1504
(2)		 1722
(2)		 1628
(2)		 1221
(2)
Spain 1397
(2)		 1128
(2)		 1389
(2)		 1198
(1)		 941
(1)
Brazil 1043
(2)		 1049
(2)		 1055
(1)		 965
(1)		 1021
(1)
Ireland 947
(1)		 1203
(2)		 1391
(2)		 1259
(2)		 971
(1)
New Zealand 971
(1)		 1144
(2)		 1105
(1)		 997
(1)		 1253
(2)
Netherlands 1221
(2)		 1156
(2)		 1248
(1)		 1166
(1)		 1109
(1)
Other 12369
(19)		 16749
(24)		 20622
(23)		 19620
(24)		 21525
(27)
Total 65798
(100)		 69740
(100)		 89954
(100)		 82982
(100)		 81060
(100)
Table 5 - Subsidiary table: UK visitors by occupational group
Visitor category 2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
Medically qualified doctor 8505
(33)

8217
(33)

 11744
(35)		 9755
(34)		 6982
(31)
Medical student 3473
(14)		 3485
(14)		 3778
(11)		 3251
(11)		 1202
(5)
Nurse or nursing student See Other See Other 4196
(12)		 3687
(13)		 3036
(14)
Other healthcare professionalor student 5419
(21)		 5363
(21)		 5539
(16)		 5135
(18)		 3272
(15)
Academic researcher 2880
(11)		 2775
(11)		 3111
(9)		 2619
(9)		 2285
(10)
Pharma employee 489
(2)		 489
(2)		 533
(2)		 484
(2)		 555
(3)
Librarian 450
(2)		 362
(1)		 448
(1)		 389
(1)		 337
(2)
Patient or patient support group 361
(1)		 349
(1)		 595
(2)		 388
(1)		 1003
(5)
Member of the public 1036
(4)		 1007
(4)		 1445
(4)		 1048
(4)		 1769
(8)
Press 262
(1)		 234
(1)		 330
(1)		 241
(1)		 345
(2)
Other 2628
(10)		 2745
(11)		 2515
(7)		 2144
(7)		 1423
(6)
Total 25503
(100)		 25026
(100)		 34234
(100)		 29141
(100 )		 22209
(100)
Table 6 - Medically qualified doctors (UK)
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
Primary (all) 1810
(21)		 1816
(22)		 2374
(20)		 2122
(22)		 2670
(38)
Primary (senior grade) - - - - 1981
(28)
Primary (doctor in training) - - - - 689
(10)
Secondary (all) 5829
(69)		 5588
(68)		 8333
(71)		 6852
(70)		 3715
(53)
Secondary (senior grade) 2174
(26)		 2199
(27)		 3176
(27)		 2839
(29)		 1868
(27)
Secondary (doctor in training) 3654
(43)		 3389
(41)		 5157
(44)		 4013
(41)		 1847
(26)
Other 867
(10)		 813
(10)		 1037
(9)		 781
(8)		 597
(9)
Total 8505 (100) 8217 (100) 11744 (100) 9755 (100) 6982
(100)
Table 7 - How old are you?
  2007
11-20 3377
(4)
21-30 22042
(27)
31-40 22057
(27)
41-50 17263
(21)
51-60 11802
(15)
61-70 3232
(4)
71-80 845
(1)
>80 442
(0.5)
Table 8 - What statement best describes you? (BMA)
I receive the BMJ as a membership benefit of the BMA 6330
(8)
I receive the StudentBMJ as a membership benefit of the BMA 1618
(2)
I have full access to bmj.com via my library or institution 29813
(37)
I have a personal subscription to bmj.com 2978
(4)
None of the above 40321
(50)
Total 81060
(100)
Table 9 (* Respondents who received the BMJ or the Student BMJ as a benefit of membership)
  2001 2002 2003 2004 2007
BMA members* who visited in
the week of the questionnaire		 7299 7775 10369 9277 7948
Total BMA membership 126 899 128 341 129 987 134 703 139 126
% of BMA members visiting in
week of questionnaire		 5.8 6.1 8.0 6.9 5.7
% of BMA members visiting in
week of questionnaire
(corrected for response rate)		 10.0 11.3 18.6 19.2 21.6
Table 10 - Frequency of visit (proportion of all visits by that occupational group)
  First visit Every/most days Weekly Fortnighty Monthly Less than monthly
 TOTAL
Medically qualified doctor (all) 5027
(17)		 2636
(9)		 9153
(32)		 2833
(10)		 4291
(15)		 5035
(17)		 28975
(100)
Medical student 2178
(36)		 357
(6)		 1007
(16)		 507
(8)		 963
(15)		 1114
(18)		 6126
(100)
Nurse or nursing student 3290
(45)		 230
(3)		 823
(11)		 420
(6)		 1097
(15)		 1499
(20)		 7359
(100)
Other health care professional
or student		 3492
(35)		 303
(3)		 1664
(14)		 765
(8)		 1590
(16)		 2229
(22)		 10043
(100)
Academic researcher 2571
(27)		 391
(4)		 2231
(23)		 850
(9)		 1498
(16)		 1962
(21)		 9503
(100)
Librarian 200
(13)		 133
(9)		 484
(32)		 131
(9)		 261
(17)		 296
(20)		 1505
(100)
Industry
(pharma, insurance, legal, etc)		 657
(29)		 102
(5)		 493
(22)		 162
(7)		 319
(14)		 539
(24)		 2272
(100)
Patient/Carer 3252
(81)		 44
(1)		 89
(2)		 47
(1)		 93
(2)		 497
(12)		 4022
(100)
Public 3898
(76)		 64
(1)		 161
(3)		 71
(1)		 133
(3)		 817
(16)		 5144
(100)
Press 324
(28)		 85
(7)		 267
(23)		 94
(8)		 154
(13)		 222
(19)		 1146
(100)
Other 2102
(42)		 219
(4)		 798
(16)		 241
(5)		 540
(11)		 1065
(22)		 4965
(100)
Total 26991
(33)		 4564
(6)		 17170
(21)		 6121
(7)		 10939
(14)		 15275
(19)		 81060
(100)
Table 11 - Frequency of visit (proportion of all visits), annual comparison
  First visit Every/most days Weekly Fortnightly Monthly Less often TOTAL
2001 24 7 38 9 12 11 100
2002 24 9 37 9 11 9 100
2003 27 9 34 8 11 10 100
2004 28 9 32 9 12 11 100
2007 33 6 21 7 14 19 100
Table 12 - What are you looking for on this visit?
  Medically qualified
doctors		 All
A specific article 12225
(42)		 38375
(47)
Information on a particular medical condition or treatment 4544
(16)		 16842
(21)
Medical news 2742
(10)		 5691
(7)
Information on medical advances, generally 3458
(12)		 6145
(8)
Information on topics related to medicine (ethics, etc) 1252
(4)		 5330
(7)
Jobs/Courses/Careers advice 3656
(13)		 4394
(5)
Other 1098
(4)		 4283
(5)
Total 28975
(100)		 81060
(100)

All the following questions were asked ONLY of returning doctors

Table 13 - In answer to the previous question you said you were looking for a specific article. Which feature will you use to find it?
The quick search box that appears at the top of every page 2236
(24)
The search box that appears on the channel pages 261
(3)
The advanced search page 1227
(13)
The current issue's table of contents 1131
(12)
The archive of past issues 1156
(12)
The Topics pages 157
(2)
I'm following a link to the article from a search engine or another website. Without this questionnaire I would have been taken directly to it. 3137
(34)
Total 9305
(100)
Table 14 - Which of the following details do you have about the article you are seeking? (tick as many as you like)
The family name of at least one of the authors 3242
(19)
At least one word that appears in the title 4023
(23)
Topic or topics covered in the article 5478
(31)
Volume and page number 2528
(14)
Date of publication 2231
(13)

The following questions were asked of one in ten returning doctors (randomly assigned)

Table 15 - What prompted your first visit to bmj.com?
Online search engine (eg Google or Yahoo) 517
(21)
PubMed (Medline), PubMedCentral 464
(19)
A link from another website 222
(9)
Recommendation from a friend, teacher or colleague 337
(14)
Article in the paper BMJ 479
(19)
Article elsewhere 88
(4)
Advertisement in the paper BMJ 113
(5)
Advertisement elsewhere 25
(1)
Other (please state) 228
(9)
Total  2473
(100)
Table 16 - Please indicate your main specialty interest (doctors)
Acute medicine 75
(3)
Anaesthesia 122
(5)
Cardiothoracic surgery 36
(1)
Cardiovascular medicine 116
(5)
Chemical pathology 21
(1)
Complementary medicine 12
(0.5)
Critical care/intensive care 59
(2)
Dentistry and oral medicine 17
(1)
Dermatology 22
(1)
Emergency medicine 92
(4)
Endocrinology/Diabetes 76
(3)
ENT/Otolaryngology 20
(1)
Epidemiology 32
(1)
Ethics 8
(0.3)
Gastroenterology 39
(2)
General medicine/internal medicine 175
(7)
General Practice/family practice/primary care 341
(13)
General surgery 71
(3)
Genetics 8
(0.3)
Genito-urinary medicine and sexual health 10
(0.4)
Geriatric medicine 41
(2)
Haematology (inc. blood transfusion) 23
(1)
Health economics 4
(0.2)
Health informatics 5
(0.2)
Health policy 7
(0.3)
Immunology (inc. allergy) 5
(0.2)
Infectious diseases 49
(2)
Legal and forensic medicine 6
(0.2)
Medical education 15
(1)
Microbiology 21
(1)
Neonatology 17
(1)
Neurology 50
(2)
Neurosurgery 17
(1)
Nuclear medicine 5
(0.2)
Obstetrics and gynaecology 105
(4)
Occupational health 18
(1)
Oncology 39
(2)
Ophthalmology 23
(1)
Oral/Maxillofacial surgery 4
(0.2)
Orthopaedic surgery 50
(2)
Paediatric surgery 9
(0.4)
Paediatrics and child health 149
(6)
Palliative care 22
(1)
Pathology 27
(1)
Pharmacology 18
(1)
Plastic surgery 10
(0.4)
Psychiatry 125
(5)
Public health 62
(2)
Radiology 35
(1)
Radiotherapy 3
(0.1)
Rehabilitation medicine 14
(1)
Renal medicine/Nephrology 21
(1)
Reproductive medicine 6
(0.2)
Respiratory/Pulmonary medicine 45
(2)
Rheumatology 27
(1)
Sports and exercise medicine 8
(0.3)
Statistics and Research Methods 15
(1)
Urology 17
(1)
Other 9
(0.4)
Total 2547
100)
Table 17 - Compared with the old design, what is your opinion of the new design?
Much better 305
(12)
Better 887
(35)
Neither better nor worse 422
(17)
Worse 107
(4)
Much worse 35
(1)
I didn't see/can't remember the previous design 781
(31)
Table 18 - How has the time you spent on the website changed over the past year?
Increased significantly 509
(20)
Increased slightly 525
(21)
Remained constant 928
(36)
Decreased slightly 164
(6)
Decreased significantly 95
(4)
I wasn't visiting the site a year ago 330
(13)
Total 2551
(100)
Table 19 - How long is your average visit to bmj.com?
Less than 2 minutes 123
(5)
2-4 minutes 263
(10)
5-7 minutes 488
(19)
8-10 minutes 677
(26)
11-13 minutes 174
(7)
14-16 minutes 262
(10)
More than 16 minutes 651
(25)
Total 2638
(100)
Table 20 - What is the single most useful medical website that you use? (top ten results)
PubMed/Medline 521
(20)
BMJ 349
(13)
UptoDate 117
(4)
eMedicine 106
(4)
Google 104
(4)
NEJM 104
(4)
Doctors.net 88
(3)
Medscape 82
(3)
GPNotebook 79
(3)
Ovid 32
(1)
Total 2638
(100)
Table 21 - All articles on bmj.com are now allocated to one of four channels: Research, Education, News, Comment. In which channel would you expect to find editorials?
Research 638
(25)
Education 546
(21)
News 255
(10)
Comment 845
(33)
No idea 306
(12)
Total 2590
(100)
Table 22 - How interested are you in more audio files (podcasts) being downloadable from bmj.com?
Very interested 514
(20)
Quite interested 733
(28)
Not interested 1037
(40)
I don't know what they are 304
(12)
Total 2588
(100)
Table 23 - How interested are you in more blogs being posted on bmj.com?
Very interested 299
(11)
Quite interested 633
(24)
Not interested 1238
(47)
I don't know what they are 488
(18)
Total 2658
(100)

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