In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood responds to Roger Miles, a proponent of the Occam's Razor principle in determining the number of exhibit evaluation types, which argues for parsimony (fewest possible). Bitgood offers a rationale for Screven's four-type evaluation model based on multiple dimensions (when, why, how, what and who), accepts Miles's three-stage model of evaluation, and addresses Miles's criticisms of the use of remedial evaluation as one of the evaluation types. which Bitgood argues should not be cut from the list of evaluation types.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota summarizes a 1984 "British Journal of Psychology" article written by M.B. Alt and K.M. Shaw, in which the authors attempt to classify museum exhibits in terms of "the way they are perceived by museum visitors." Cota discusses how this research suggests that there are a number of exhibit factors of greater importance than interaction or participation.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses three aspects of designing effective exhibits: (1) the possible criteria for assessing the success of an exhibit; (2) common exhibit design approaches or strategies; and (3) the research and evaluation strategies used to gather information on exhibit effectiveness. Bitgood argues that a better understanding of these three issues can lead to more thoughtful design of exhibits, more careful consideration of approaches, and more reliable and valid measures of success.
In this article, Susan Fisher of the Harn Museum of Art and John J. Koran, Jr. of the Florida Museum of Natural History discuss their study designed to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting evaluations at archeological sites. Specifically, the researchers conducted a summative evaluation of epistemic curiosity and knowledge of Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking visitors to the Maya site of Uxmal in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses and questions the commonly-held belief that visitors turn right when entering museum galleries. Based on his research, Bitgood offers a hierarchy of forces that influence visitor turning at choice points.
In this article, Arlene Benefield interviews Marilyn (Molly) Hood, Ph.D., director of Hood Associates. This interview provides the insights of a distinguished audience researcher whose work has helped to awaken the leisure world to aspects of the visiting, and non-visiting, publics of museums and other cultural institutions.
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Visitor Studies AssociationArlene Benefield
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota provides a summary of a 1993 article in "Environment and Behavior" by Hans-Joachim Klein, in which Klein analyzes visitor circulation in museums. Klein conducted a series of studies of visitor circulation by tracking visitors and recording their behavior on floor maps of the exhibit hall. Key findings from these studies are summarized in this article.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota provides a summary of a 1983 article in the International Journal of Museum Management and Curatorship by S.A. Griggs. Griggs studied both topographical and conceptual orientation at the British Museum (Natural History). Cota summarizes Griggs's key findings and thirteen recommendations for effective orientation.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Amy Cota provides a summary of a 1993 article featured in "Environment and Behavior" by J. Talbot, R. Kaplan, F. Kuo, and S. Kaplan. The authors of this article discuss findings of a study that analyzed handout maps and argue that these maps need to be simplified to avoid visitor confusion.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and Sherri Lankford discuss museum orientation and circulation, including conceptual orientation and wayfinding. The authors analyze previsit orientation, lobby orientation, during-visit orientation, and exiting orientation.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and Amy Cota discuss the importance of orientation and circulation within exhibits. The authors outline a list of selected principles of visitor orientation and circulation that pertain specifically to an exhibition space, rather than to the entire facility.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood provides a list of guidelines for creating and placing orientation signage. According to the author, this list offers a starting point for someone who wishes to construct a checklist.