In this article, Lisa Roberts, Manager of Public Programming at the Chicago Botanic Garden, shares her thoughts in response to the ongoing discussion about the appropriateness and use of various metaphors in visitor studies. Roberts argues that the question, "What do you want to know?" is at the heart of the issue.
In this article, Albert Ndayitwayeko, AFGRAD Fellow at the University of Florida, and John J. Koran, Jr., Professor and Curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, analyze the informal education field in the Republic of Burundi, a small country located in Central Africa. This discussion focuses on natural history museums and zoos, their exhibits and visitor behavior, which may serve as a valuable and less expensive adjunct to formal learning.
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Albert NdayitwayekoJohn J. Koran, Jr.
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, Jeff Hayward of People, Places & Design Research discusses four common misconceptions about visitor research and evaluation. This article is adapted from an article published in "Children's Environments Quarterly" in 1987.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Wayne Hamberger summarizes Chan Screven's 1990 article on the uses of evaluation before, during and after exhibit design in the "ILVS Review." Hamberger outlines Screven's list of misconceptions commonly held by professionals in exhibition centers.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Bill Ford discusses findings from three studies that suggest that self-reports are often inaccurate if they are not validated. There are often differences between stated preferences of visitors and their actual behavior.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood discusses two misconceptions associated with signs that attempt to control visitor behavior. Bitgood cites findings from a study of three types of Do-Not-Feed signs at the Birmingham Zoo.
In this article, Jacksonville State University's Stephen Bitgood responds to nine commonly misconceptions about evaluation. Bitgood cites recent research findings related to visitor evaluation theories and approaches in museums/zoos.