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Session Title: Evaluation in Action: A Sampler of Tracking and Timing Methodologies in Museums, Culturals, and Informal Education Settings
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Panel Session 258 to be held in TRAVIS D on Thursday, Nov 11, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Evaluating the Arts and Culture TIG
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| Chair(s): |
| Kathleen Tinworth, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, kathleen.tinworth@dmns.org
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| Discussant(s):
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| Kathleen Tinworth, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, kathleen.tinworth@dmns.org
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| Abstract:
Following a successful and well-attended panel session in 2009, members of the Visitor Studies Association (VSA) will return to AEA to showcase a variety of studies used to evaluate the visitor experience in museum and cultural settings. In particular, tracking and timing methodologies will be presented, illustrating the utility of this vehicle across disciplines. While not necessary to attend both sessions, this panel complements a proposed demonstration session where several tracking and timing methodologies will be exhibited. Participants will have the opportunity to both hear case studies where tracking and timing was utilized in a visitor studies setting as well as experiment first-hand with collecting and analyzing the resulting data and applying it to their own work.
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Tracking Among the Ruins: Informing Interpretive Planning at Eastern State Penitentiary
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| Cheryl Kessler, Independent Consultant, kessler.cheryl@gmail.com
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Cheryl Kessler, Independent Consultant in informal learning environments, VSA Board member, and former Research Associate with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) will present a timing and tracking study conducted by ILI for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Site. The purpose of the study was to help inform the master and interpretive planning process for the site, which originally opened to the public in 1994. Using a detailed map of the site, Kessler and other ILI researchers followed 70 visitors through the site noting the overall time the visitor spent at the site and in what specific areas or cell blocks; the path taken around the site – what was attended, what was skipped; visitors’ level of engagement at audio stops, images, displays, and interpretive materials; and the frequency of social interactions observed between visitors or between visitors and staff members. ILI researchers coded the maps, and entered and analyzed the data using SPSS.
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Reflective Tracking: When It’s Simply too Large
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| Joe E Heimlich, Ohio State University, heimlich.1@osu.edu
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Tracking provides a powerful tool into understanding visitor engagement, activity, and interest. Tracking has historically been used for specific exhibits or special areas but its value serves well a full institution, as it is in the whole of the visit that a visitor reveals how they fully engage. Many facilities are simply too large to allow for full visit tracking in an efficient, cost effective, and appropriate manner. One approach developed for zoos and aquariums, and since applied to historical museums, science centers, and others is Reflective Tracking, in which the questions guiding the study relate to decision processes, engagement, disengagement, interest, and social interactions and role changes. This paper will present the constructs of reflective tracking (focus on object other than evaluator; dialogue versus question/answer; guiding questions), results of applications, and criticisms of the tools. Dr. Joe E. Heimlich, the developer of the approach, will present this session.
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Unspoken Narratives: What Visitor Behavior Reveals About Exhibit Usage and Selection
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| Carey Tisdal, Tisdal Consulting, ctisdal@sbcglobal.net
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Carey Tisdal, Director, Tisdal Consulting and Visitor Studies Association Board Member will present findings from the remedial and summative evaluation Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. This National Science Foundation funded project developed a national traveling exhibition on science and technology themes depicted in the Star Wars movies. Data were collected at two sites, the Museum of Science, Boston, and COSI in Columbus, Ohio. Tracking and timing observations with matched exit interviews (of the same respondents) provided data sets from which findings about the reasons for exhibit usage and selection could be developed. For example, step-wise multiple regression was used to identify patterns in visitors choice and use of exhibit components that influenced visitor satisfaction. In addition, explanations for adult non-use of interactive were identified. Data sets that included the time data, visitor demographics, and visitor perceptions provided a richer opportunity for understanding choices and behaviors that either method alone.
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Analysis and Visualization of Timing and Tracking Data: Examples From Two Exhibit Evaluations
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| Cláudia Figueiredo, Institute for Learning Innovation, figueiredo@ilinet.org
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Cláudia Figueiredo, Research Associate with the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI) and member of the VSA 2010 Conference Committee, will present examples of how timing and tracking data can be analyzed and presented. These examples will be drawn from evaluations done at two exhibits, the Sant Ocean Hall (National Museum of Natural History) and Skyscraper! (Liberty Science Center). They will show some of the common ways to present timing and tracking information, including number of areas visited, time spent, path, and visitor behavior, as well as illustrate ways these data can be visualized through heat maps.
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