Collecting data in MOXI - Sam S.

I'm not sure of the full extent each method of data collection has already been in use at MOXI. I know that we've used quantitative observation of exhibits for last year's MAPS projects, both through in-person and security camera observations. An advantage of observation, especially the security cameras, is that it can be completely unobtrusive, and will most likely capture a guest's "true" behavior, without their recognition of being recorded. Also, this method will most often be the most efficient for getting large sample sizes -- if a guests only spends 5 seconds at an exhibit, that's a data point in itself, and the "interaction" is over. However, observation like this doesn't allow the researcher to clarify any reasons for a guest's behavior. They're limited just to what they can see and hear. This method of data collection also probably requires the least investment and training for the data collector. At MOXI, observation is probably best for assessing the merits and deficiencies of individual exhibits or areas.

Interviews are really useful to get at guests' opinions, motivations, expectations, and priorities. For MOXI, I think interviews are the best method to determine how guests' identities inform their visit, as per Falk. Interviews would also likely be necessary if you're trying to do any sort of "deep dive" into guest behavior around the museum, since you need to know as much as possible about what a guest brings to the table in order to understand their behavior in a place like MOXI. A disadvantage of interviewing is that the process of data collection is very delicate. As Diamond, Horn, and Uttal note, you need to have the correct questions, in the correct order, at a convenient time, all asked and conducted by someone with tact and experience who can make the subject feel comfortable. This takes a lot of time and investment, and there may be any number of reasons to have to scrap or downplay certain answers because one or more of those conditions aren't met. I'd love to hear more about how in-person interviews have been done here at MOXI in the past, because I can't think of any examples.

It seems that surveys/questionnaires can be very effective, especially in a dynamic setting like MOXI, to get data. Guests can use the survey as a bit of a break from all the movement in the museum, even. Questions definitely have to be workshopped beforehand, however, and the survey has to be kept relatively short so guests don't give meaningless answers. I think the amount of data you can get from a survey is somewhat limited -- the advantage is that you can reach more people, in less time, with less skill needed. I've seen guest services go around with satisfaction surveys, and I'd love to learn more about how they select different guests, who agrees to take the survey, and what techniques they use to get guests to participate. I think there's a lot of potential sample bias that can get baked into this method, and I'd like to know how we try minimizing that.

- Sam S.