---
title: "Data: Why Don’t They Join? (Scholarly Society Edition)"
id: "12656"
type: "post"
slug: "data-why-dont-they-join-scholarly-society-edition"
published_at: "2015-07-27T10:12:00+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-03-15T02:51:05+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/07/27/data-why-dont-they-join-scholarly-society-edition/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/07/27/data-why-dont-they-join-scholarly-society-edition.md"
excerpt: "John Wiley & Sons, Inc., journal-publishing partner to more than 900 global scholarly societies, conducted a survey in 2014 to uncover why people do or don’t join such organizations. When asked why they don’t join, nonmembers cited the following four..."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "ASAEcenter"
  - "Membership"
  - "Membership Recruitment & Retention"
  - "nonprofit"
  - "Professional Association"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Data: Why Don’t They Join? (Scholarly Society Edition)

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., journal-publishing partner to more than 900 global scholarly societies, conducted a survey in 2014 to uncover why people do or don’t join such organizations. When asked why they don’t join, nonmembers cited the following four reasons most frequently. The study focused on STEM fields, but it’s not a stretch to imagine that these barriers to joining associations exist in other fields, too.

High cost:

24%

Never been invited to join:

15%

Don’t know what’s available:

12%

Never occurred to me to join:

12%

*Source: “[Membership Matters: Lessons From Members and Non-Members (opens in a new tab)](http://exchanges.wiley.com/societies/membershipsurvey2014)
,” Wiley, March 2015*

Tags: [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#Membership Recruitment & Retention](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership-recruitment-retention/)
 [#nonprofit](https://associationsnow.com/tag/nonprofit/)
 [#Professional Association](https://associationsnow.com/tag/professional-association/)

**Stay Informed**

[Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/)
, *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day.

## You Might Like

- [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/)
- [ArticleGrowth Isn’t Enough: Five Signs Your Community Has an Engagement ProblemSeptember 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/30/growth-isnt-enough-five-signs-your-community-has-an-engagement-problem/)
- [ArticleThe “Why Not” Factor: Unlocking Growth Through Nonmember ResearchSeptember 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/28/the-why-not-factor-unlocking-growth-through-nonmember-research/)
- [Video2025 Summit Award Recipient: National Adoption AssociationOctober 3, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/10/03/2025-summit-award-recipient-national-adoption-association/)

## Comments

**Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/)

[Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F07%2F27%2Fdata-why-dont-they-join-scholarly-society-edition%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!