This is an abstract of Barbara J. Soren's 1990 Ph.D. Dissertation at Toronto University. Soren used an interpretive approach to understand the educational function of museums in curriculum-making terms. Soren conducted research at three informal sites in Ontario and found that planning for public education has features typical of a formal. curriculum-making process.
This is a brief abstract of Rosalyn Rubenstein's 1984 Master's Thesis at Toronto University. Rubenstein discusses exhibit design as a problem-solving process which influences the quality of the visitor experience.
This is an abstract of Marilyn G. Hood's 1981 Ph.D. dissertation at Ohio State University. Hood researched the relationship between critical attributes of leisure choices and audience preferences for selected activities, such as museum participation. The research was carried out at the Toledo Museum of Art.
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 researchers define and analyze the "immersion" visitor experience. The researchers present preliminary findings from a study that attempted to explore some of the dimensions of this visitor experience of immersion. Subjects in this study were 241 visitors to the Anniston Museum of Natural History in Anniston, Alabama.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Stephen BitgoodElizabeth EllingsenDonald Patterson
In this article, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researchers Dawn D' Amico and Wendy Pokorny discuss findings from their study that investigated the impact of a museum visit on preconceived notions of scientific explanation. D' Amico and Pokorny found that visitors' preconceptions were unlikely to change as a result of viewing exhibits.
In this article, Mark St. John of Inverness Research Associates offers new metaphors for thinking about assessment in informal settings. These metaphors relate to architecture, criticism, investigative journalism, anthropology/geography, product evaluation, narrative (storytelling), committee hearings, marketing, and cognitive science.
In this article, Harris Shettel presents a rebuttal to Mark St. John's paper, "New Metaphors for Carrying Out Evaluations in the Science Museum Setting." Shettel does not see value in substituting metaphors as suggested by St. John and does not believe the field of evaluation and visitor research is fundamentally flawed.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Visitor Studies AssociationHarris Shettel
In this article, Harris Shettel presents an allegorical tale as a response to Mark St. John's paper, "New Metaphors for Carrying Out Evaluations in the Science Museum Setting."
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Harris ShettelVisitor Studies Association
In this article, D.D. Hilke of the National Museum of American History presents his rebuttal to Mark St. John's paper "New Metaphors for Carrying Out Evaluations in the Science Museum Setting." Hilke discusses three examples that provide an alternative paradigmatic perspective to St. John's view.
In this article, Richard Schulhof of The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University discusses findings from a study at the North Carolina Botanical Garden that assessed to what extent visitors appreciate and explore the native habitat exhibit environment, and, more importantly, identify the factors influencing their response to it. This study utilized exit interviews, unobtrusive observation of visitors and visitor-employed photography to analyze visitor response.