This paper examines one Australian museum’s commitment to create social awareness of political issues within its community. The paper begins by discussing the challenge of cultural representation of Indigenous peoples in the context of civic engagement. Some of the historical and political issues facing Indigenous Australians and their representation in Museums are discussed. A study of the Indigenous Australians exhibition at the Australian Museum in Sydney investigates visitors’ perceptions of the exhibition. Recommendations are made as they relate to community partnerships, interpretive
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Katherine S. H. BoumanAustralian Museum
This is a brief abstract of Pete Conroy's Master's Thesis at the University of Georgia. Through his research, Conroy identified and described two components of museum education: the audiences who use museums and key activities necessary for effective museum education.
In this brief article, Ruth Freeman summarizes a report of ongoing evaluation efforts of the effectiveness of the Discovery Gallery at the Royal Ontario Museum.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses findings from a study that examined two aspects of the public image of visitor facilities: the expectations of what is likely to be found at different types of facilities; and, some general perceptions of these different types of visitor facilities. Facility types included science museums, history museums, historic sites, state parks, natural history museums, and art museums.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and William Ford presents findings from a study that assessed the impact of various names on how a specific type of facility is perceived. Researchers investigated respondents' expectations associated with new names for a facility under the administration of the North Carolina Historic Site.
In this Ph.D. dissertation abstract, James D. Bigley discusses findings from his study of the motivations for museum membership and donation of the members of the San Antonio Museum Association. Bigley developed the theoretical Model of the Museum Donation Decision process, which contributed to the study.
In this article, Marilyn Hood of Hood Associates debunks seventeen common misconceptions held by museum professionals. Topics include visitor behavior, visitation trends, and evaluation methods.
In this article, Marilyn G. Hood, of Hood Associates, discusses major issues in the field of museum audience research. Hood explains how much of her work has focused on two specific aspects: (1) probing the psychographic dimensions of current and potential audiences and (2) determining why people are not at the museum.
In this article, Marilyn G. Hood, Ph.D., of Hood Associates, discusses African-American attendance and non-attendance at art museums. Hood presents findings from focus groups and individual interviews used to better understand African-American feelings about and perceptions of art museums, which she divides into internal dimensions and external dimensions.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood and Don Thompson address the issue of how museums can appeal to multicultural audiences and assess the impact of their attempts to attract new audiences. Bitgood and Thompson outline a four-step process for addressing problems of multicultural audiences.
In this article, Rosalyn Rubenstein discusses how the focus group method can be used in museum visitor studies. Rubenstein provides a general description of the focus group method, describes the process by breaking it down into its component parts, uses case studies as examples of how focus groups have been used and the data they elicit, and draws conclusion about the projects to which focus groups are appropriate. This paper also makes reference to aspects of methodology in consumer market research and revisions, which Rubenstein uses to apply the technique to museum audience research.
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Rosalyn RubensteinVisitor Studies Association
In this article, G. Donald Adams of the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village discusses the influence of positive word-of-mouth on motivating attendance at museums and other visitor attractions. Adams shares an example of a word-of-mouth situation and how assessments made at various stages in the process can help a museum plan public programs that create positive impressions.