So What is This Big Survey All About Anyway?

A few of our recent posts have shared some preliminary results, and thoughts, on our latest research study.  But we thought it would be a good idea to step back and share what our goals of the project are, how we went about the survey project, and what you can expect over the next few months as we share the results.

Project Goals

Our previous research had led us to a number of big questions about museum-going adults.  Some examples (and this list is not exhaustive):

• Do childhood experiences at museums affect motivations and expectations of adult museum-goers?  How? 
• If certain types of childhood experiences are common among our most engaged adult visitors, can museums “stack the deck” so that children today have similar experiences?
• How crucial are school field trips to raising new generations of museum goers?  How crucial are fathers?
• For some adult museum-goers, motivations for visiting museums appear to shift as they pass through different life stages, while for others they remain unchanged.  What do those shifts mean for museums?  How can they help adults transition?  How do we keep a significant segment of museum-goers from transitioning out of the museum-going habit?
• For those who have unchanged motivations, some are curious life-long museum-goers.  What made them so?
• How important is curiosity as a motivation?

Methodology

To test these hypotheses, we developed a survey designed to capture the responses of museum-going adults.  Via our e-newsletter and this blog, we recruited 103 museums from 5 countries (97% of respondents were from the US).  The museums all then sent a survey invitation to their e-mail lists, Facebook fans, and Twitter feeds (note that this survey did not capture the thoughts of infrequent visitors or non-visitors – that is a big project for another day).  We compiled just over 40,000 responses from a wide variety of museums, as follows:

Type	# of Museums	# of Respondents	% of Respondents	Average Response Rate
Children’s	21	6499	16%	5.08%
Art	19	8354	21%	5.54%
Science Centers	23	8560	21%	5.40%
History/Historic Site	40	15648	39%	4.64%
Other	12	3806	9%	5.33%

Responses total more than 100% as some museums fell into more than one category; “other” includes botanical gardens/arboretums, natural history, and other museums that did not fall neatly into any other category

We continue to complete our rigorous quantitative analysis of the data, as well as qualitative analysis of open-ended questions.  Participating museums will be receiving their individual results later this spring.  This project is a pro bono project of Reach Advisors. 

What You Can Expect In the Next Few Months

A lot of data.  With 40,000+ respondents, we can run filters to analyze audience segments that are normally extraordinarily difficult to reach.  Statistically stable samples of museum-going young adults in their 20s?  Not only do we have that, but we have a statistically stable sample of young men in their 20s, one of the most notoriously difficult audiences to find.  

We have a stable sample of homeschooling parents as well (and some of their results are fascinating). We’ve also pulled out respondents who, as children, did not go to museums with their parents but did have a seminal school field trip to a museum. 

We are comparing what we are calling “Ultra-learning” mothers of preschoolers, who are super-focused on child enrichment, with “Ultra-curious” counterparts, who are super-focused to feeding their own curiosity and instilling that trait in their children.  Turns out, these moms are stunningly different. 

We’ll be looking at, and sharing, lots of other things as well.  That young adult museum-goers in their 20s are not that enthusiastic about technology in the museums they visit . . . and who is more enthusiastic.  How different types of museums attract different audiences and/or engender somewhat different expectations (such as those technology preferences in museum spaces).  And, for kicks, we’ll be looking at the public library usage of museum goers.  It is not necessarily what you might expect.

Over the next few months we’ll be sharing our findings on all of these audience segments, museum types, expectations, motivations, and what we did not expect to find.  Much of it will be released via this blog (if you want to subscribe so that posts come in via your e-mail, look for the subscribe box at the top-right of our blog’s homepage, http://reachadvisors.typepad.com).  You can also find posts directly relating to this project via the category “2010 National Visitor Study,” http://reachadvisors.typepad.com/museum_audience_insight/2010-national-visitor-study/.

While we’ll endeavor to keep posts short, lively, and immediately relevant to you and your museum, there will be times that we may focus on an audience segment that, honestly, is just not a priority for you.  Or we may be sharing a load of data that provides context for future posts.  And there may be times when our analysis just doesn’t feel right to you (in which case, please do share your thoughts by commenting on the blog . . . your thoughts only deepen our analysis and are helpful for others as well). 

So stay tuned for more results!  We cannot wait to share . . .

If you have any thoughts about this project, don’t hesitate to comment!  To share, simply click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)

Comments

[Paul]

Hi ,

Do you happen to have any data on total museum visitation globally? I'm trying to find data on the US and global museum market and was hoping you might be able to point me in the direction of some good numbers.

Thanks,

Paul

[Susie Wilkening, Reach Advisors]

Thanks for your question, Paul. Our research is primarily US-based, so we do not have good figures at all globally. If you have more specific questions, however, feel free to e-mail me at susie (at) reachadvisors (dot) com.

[Bill]

My observation is that minority attendants are underrepresented at inner city Children's Museums. Are there studies on this attendance category?

[Gwendolyn Kelly]

Hello,
Could you please post (or direct me to) the list of the 103 participating museums? I'm particularly interested in the 19 art museums.

thank you,

[john]

Hi,
I was wondering what opportunities would a general museum hold for a young adult, preferably between Highschool and University?

thankyou :)

[Susie Wilkening, Reach Advisors]

Hi John -

Good question. If you are looking at museum opportunities for your gap year, there are some possibilities. For example, science museums and centers often hire young adults as "explainers." If you enjoy interacting with the public, and with children in particular, this may be a fun job for you. Zoos and aquariums also sometimes hire young adults for similar reasons.

If you are more interested in working behind the scenes, then your chances of paid employment are, admittedly, smaller. But if you are interested in unpaid work to gain experience, you might contact the volunteer offices of museums and tell them what you are interested in. (If there is no volunteer office, try human resources.)

You may have better luck, and get to do a wider variety of things, at a smaller museum. In that case, call up and ask to speak to the curator or collections manager, or the director even, and share with them your interests, your availability, and if you are able to commit to an unpaid internship of some sort.

Good luck!

[Mona]

Hi - I was wondering if you have any information or data on audience interest/ mass market appeal of themed exhibitions (specifically science and technology, art and fashion). If you know of any or could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

Thanks!