In this article, Harris Shettel, an evaluation consultant, discusses the politics of evaluation and how the recent use of visitor data to inform decision making at all levels qualifies as a paradigm shift in the approach taken to museum public programming.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Harris ShettelVisitor Studies Association
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This paper offers a simple view of the institutionalization process and describes case studies of three institutions (High Desert Museum, Chicago Academy of Sciences, and Chicago Children's Museum). It is a summary of remarks from the 1994 Visitor Studies Conference in Raleigh, NC.
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D. PerryK. RonningJ. SiskaS. WeaverErica ReedVisitor Studies Association
This article provides an abstract of Jane Marie Litwak, Ph.D.'s dissertation. The dissertation applied concepts from cognitive psychology to the design of museum exhibit labels in an effort to direct visitor attention and increase learning in museum settings.
In this article, Marilyn G. Hood of Hood Associates, discusses the importance of high response rates to museum audience research. Hood argues that museums can produce more reliable, accurate measurements of their work by becoming knowledgeable about about questionnaire design, sampling, and appropriate response rates.
In this article, Alan J. Friedman, Director of the New York Hall of Science, analyzes why museums don't participate in formal evaluation and looks to science and technology centers for answers. Friedman calls for better educating museum scientists and leadership about the values of evaluation, acknowledgment of the consequences of the lack of evaluation, and how to achieve better discipline in the exhibit development process.
In this article, Stephen Bitgood of Jacksonville State University provides a review and overview of how institutions accept and implement visitor evaluation findings. Bitgood presents a brief review of literature that illustrate the problem of institutional acceptance, outlines the levels of institutional acceptance, and suggests ways for improving institutional acceptance.
In this article, staff at the University of Florida's Florida Museum of Natural History discuss the efforts of the Learning in Informal Settings Program, including three international evaluation studies.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
John J. Koran, Jr.Mary Lou KoranBetty Dunckel CampAnne E. Donnelly
This is the conclusion of an article that was omitted from the previous issue of "Visitor Behavior." In this article, Kathleen F. Wagner discusses their efforts to institutionalize evaluation at the Philadelphia Zoo.
In this article, Marilyn G. Hood of Hood Associates discusses situations that affect and inhibit the institutional acceptance of audience research, including both the concept and findings from research projects. Hood argues that if institutions allow adequate time and resources, solicit input and develop support for use of the results and prepare staff to carry out implementation, than institutions are more likely to accept research results.
In this article, Stephen Bitgood, of Jacksonville State University, and Carey Tisdal, of the St. Louis Science Center, discusses the challenges of assessing visitor orientation. The authors provide an overview of a visitor orientation study at the St. Louis Science Center, including methods and key findings.
In this article, Stephen Bitgood, of Jacksonville State University, discusses evaluation efforts to assess people's understanding of evolution and to determine what type of messages might be most effective in communicating evolutionary theory. This article focuses on one aspect of their findings--the relationship between attitudes toward evolution/creation theories and the perception that evolution conflicts with Christian religions.
This article summarizes the various factors that can impede or compete with learning from exhibit labels. These impediments include novelty of surroundings, object satiation, competing sights and sounds, lack of orientation, and too much time and effort to get the message.