staff members carried forward their writing on selected works 

 from the collection for a major book to be published in 1996. 



Institutional Studies Office 



Zahava D. Doering, Director 



The Institutional Studies Office (ISO) is a pan-Institutional 

 resource for the scientific study of the characteristics, 

 attitudes, opinions and experiences of Smithsonian constituen- 

 cies. The small staff includes professionals with expertise in so- 

 ciology, demography, research methods, survey statistics, and 

 a variety of quantitative and qualitative data analysis and eval- 

 uation techniques. 



Since its founding in 1987, ISO has conducted studies and 

 applied research for Smithsonian administrators, curators and 

 programmatic staff. Areas of investigation include audience 

 and membership profiles, background studies and assessments 

 of SI exhibitions and public programs, and ongoing analyses 

 of employee composition. For each study, ISO is responsible 

 for all aspects of study or survey design, implementation of 

 data collection, analysis and report writing. Institutional cli- 

 ents are asked to assume the costs of data collection and data 

 entry. In addition, the office provides some technical consulta- 

 tion to cultural organizations throughout the country and pro- 

 fessional review of applied research conducted for them. The 

 staff is also available, on a limited basis, to conduct seminars 

 in various aspects of applied quantitative and qualitative re- 

 search and program evaluation. 



The results of ISO studies are disseminated in several for- 

 mats. The major vehicle is a Report series; analyses include 

 technical appendices which both document the work and can 

 be used as methodological models. The Reports are distrib- 

 uted both within and outside of SI. Results are also presented 

 at professional meetings or in journal publications. (For exam- 

 ple, a presentation at the American Association of Museums 

 1995 Annual Meeting, Who Attends Our Cultural Institutions? 

 summarized national museum attendance.) Research Notes 

 have a more limited distribution, either because of the subject 

 matter or because the results are not generalizable. (For exam- 

 ple, a Research Note (RN 95-3) Cognitive Development ofSEEC 

 Pre-School Students: Preliminary Results is based on a longitudi- 

 nal study of students in the Smithsonian Early Enrichment 

 Center; Research Note 95-2, 1994-9$ National Museum of Ameri- 

 can History (NMAH) Visitor Survey. Overview: October to December 

 1994, is based on only a few months of data collection from a 

 year-long study.) Finally, to ensure that clients have timely ac- 

 cess to results while more formal documents are prepared, 

 memoranda are prepared for internal use. 



The Office's 1994-95 activities included: 

 • Application of ISO-developed methodological and statisti- 

 cal innovations in sampling and interviewing museum au- 



diences (e.g. in studies of the characteristics, attitudes and 

 behavior of visitors to NASM, NMNH, NMAH and the 

 Freer-Sackler). These innovations are increasingly being 

 used as models elsewhere in the country. 



• Assessments of major exhibitions, including profiles of visi- 

 tors and analyses of their behavior and learning experiences 

 (e.g., Science in American Life at NMAH, Star Trek at 

 NASM). 



• Planning studies that determine the attitudes and expecta- 

 tions of prospective visitors in advance of major exhibition 

 projects (e.g., the National Museum of the American In- 

 dian). 



• Providing statistical information on Smithsonian constitu- 

 encies for bureau and office development staffs and pro- 

 gram personnel (e.g., data gathered from various ISO 

 studies is being used in the planning for the NASM Exten- 

 sion at Dulles Airport). 



• All of the statistical analyses used by the Institution to 

 meet its labor force reporting requirements to the Regents, 

 the Congress and other federal agencies. 



• Statistical, methodological, and analytical advice for units 

 conducting their own studies or applying for grants which 

 have evaluation components (e.g., OESE's and OFG's inter- 

 nal studies). 



As part of an on-going efforts to understand Smithsonian 

 constituencies, three studies were completed (one based on ad- 

 ministrative data, two based on personal interviews), and data 

 collection completed for several new efforts. The first, 1994 

 Visits to Smithsonian Museums, conducted in collaboration with 

 the Office of Public Affairs (OPA), analyzed the visit statistics 

 collected routinely by the Office of Protection Services (Re- 

 port 95-1). The second was Air and Space Encounters: A Report 

 Based on the 1994 National Air and Space Museum Visitor Survey 

 (Report 95-4). The study, a follow-up to a study conducted in 

 1988, was based on interviews with 2,975 visitors. They were 

 asked about their background, their experience of Washington 

 and the Mall, and their attitudes and expectations of NASM. 



Data collection was also completed and a report issued 

 based on a year-long study of the National Museum of Natu- 

 ral History (NMNH). This is the first comprehensive study of 

 visitors' characteristics and experiences at NMNH (Beyond the 

 Elephant: A Report based on the 1 994—95 National Museum of 

 Natural History Visitor Survey (Report 95-6)). 



Throughout the year, data collection took place at the Freer 

 Gallery of Art (Freer) and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 

 (Sackler), and at the National Museum of American History. 

 Analyses and reports are scheduled for FY96. From October 

 1994 through September 1995, 2500 visitors were interviewed 

 as they exited the Freer and Sackler galleries. During the same 

 time period, a total of about 5300 visitors were interviewed at 

 NMAH using a questionnaire similar to those developed for 

 NMNH and NASM. Data from these year-long studies, in 

 combination with data from NASM and NMNH, and the re- 

 sultant analyses, provide a wealth of consistent data about 

 major Smithsonian museums. 



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