1. Running Head: Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Aramis X. Ramirez
National University
COM 610
Professor Marguerite Hillman
June 26, 2015
2. Running Head: Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………..………… 3
FOCUS GROUP TESTING………………………………….………………..... 6
QUALITATIVE SURVEY…………………………………………..………….. 9
REFERENCES………………………………………………….………….…… 12
APPENDIX (A): FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPT ……………...……...…… 13
APPENDIX (B): SURVEY MONKEY METRICS…………….…..…………..18
3. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 3
INTRODUCTION
In 2011, the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum moved into a new, climate-controlled, large
building. This building is located outside the perimeter of Naval Base Ventura County,
Port Hueneme because it was concluded that residing on base meant limiting visitation to
those who could easily gain access, while deterring those who would not. Several years
later, patronage slowly has been gaining traction, seeing about an average of twenty
percent year over year. Ideally, a national military history museum would like to see large
numbers in visitation so the purpose of this research project will be to identify strengths
and weaknesses in the museum’s interpretive and public education programming.
The formal mission of the museum is to select, collect, preserve and display historic
material relating to the history of the Naval Construction Force, better known as the
SEABEES, and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. This coincides with the purpose of
this research, which is to ensure we are selecting the right artifacts to absorb into our
collection that will tell the stories patrons wish to hear and see at the museum. Not only
that, but to identify what exhibits in the museum are satisfying the mission so as to
continue supporting it.
The other area of exploration is of course analyzing the effectiveness of our
communications. It is important to determine of the methods and channels currently
being used are effective in reaching the people we wish to reach. Our assumptions are
that with older patrons (by this we can identify “older” as being mostly derived of retired
military, mostly Vietnam-era), traditional channels like newspapers, and television are
useful, while younger generations prefer more online and social media-focused
communications.
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The objective of this research will be comprised of two major focus areas:
interpretive planning and communication channels.
Qualitative Research
Chenail (2011) notes the root of qualitative research is the use of open-ended
questions to engage in dialogue that leads to discovery, rather than simply analytics (p.
255). He notes that recorder bias can occur when interviewers begin to select people who
fit a certain type of person that will satisfy a mentally pre-determined set of conclusions,
while also noting challenges also exist in drafting useful open-ended questions (p. 256).
For this project, the questions under this research methodology will ask patrons what they
like about the museum, what they do not like, how they perceive the flow of the exhibits,
what topics do they wish to see covered and what channels of communication do they
prefer to learn about museum exhibits and public events. Responses will be recorded via
digital audio recorder with the following group make-up:
1. Patron (Older)
2. Patron (Younger)
3. Volunteer (Older)
4. Volunteer (Younger
5. Employee (Newly staffed)
6. Employee (Longer staffed)
Three main areas will be covered in this group because it is important to capture the
perspectives everyone involved. The patron will offer their outsider’s perspective of their
impressions before and after visitation, volunteers will offer what they think when they
inform others about the museum and exhibits, and staff will offer what directions they
5. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 5
would like to take, and what they feel is working and not working in the interpretive
planning. Common themes will be captured and recorded in an excel sheet to display
frequency of appearance in the interviews.
Quantitative Research
While the development and delivery of the quantitative method appears to be
simpler, it is no less challenging than the qualitative method. Creswell (2013) explains
that research in this area means examining the relationship among variables. These
measurable variables can be analyzed using statistical procedures and therefore can
protect against bias for which the quantitative approach can fall prey (p. 4).
To remain consistent with non-bias, online approaches to conducting the survey will
best. Survey Monkey has the easiest and friendliest means of generating and conducting
the survey as well as delivering responses. The participants will be solicited from the
museum’s online properties and randomly selected from patrons visiting the museum by
distributing survey invitations on cards with the Survey Monkey URL printed on them.
The questionnaire will consist of closed-ended questions and likert scale questions form
which analysis can be conducted on the results as they are received from the survey
service and entered into a spreadsheet.
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FOCUS GROUP TESTING
The purpose of the focus group was to conduct qualitative research that covered two
areas, museum presentations and effectiveness of communications. In this case three
main subject areas were considered with regard to occupational perspectives with two
staff members, two volunteers and two patrons being invited to the group. To cover age
perspectives, each of the three main groups had one older and one younger respondent
invited to attend.
The Setting
To avoid bias, questions were kept to a minimum during the moderation process to
allow for the group to guide its own discussion. The location was considered to help
facilitate that discussion. The conference room in the museum offers a round table setting
to place all respondents on an equal level so no one person would feel more pressured to
answer a question over another.
Participants were recruited via personal invitation and the scheduled time was
suitable for all save for one who ended up not showing up to the group session. Elliot &
Associates (2005) recommend overshooting the minimum to ensure ideal participation.
The loss of one participant was better than expected, though in the event too many were
unable to attend, a secondary plan to hold additional focus groups was in place.
To account for moderator bias, questions were selected that would speak to a broad
discussion prior to the focus group.
What do you think the museum is lacking in its presentations?
What were your first impressions of the museum’s presentations?
What else could be done or presented differently?
What are some things going well?
What is most appealing to your favorite exhibits?
What topics would you like to cover with the temporary ones?
7. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 7
How satisfied are you with the public education programs?
What part do you think communications plays in that?
Are there any other things that you feel need to be addressed with regard to
improving museum offerings or communications?
Appendix (A) offers a full transcript of the conversation recorded on an iPhone,
while a separate Excel spreadsheet outlines major themes from those answers. Having
both staff and patrons in the group allowed a balance of perspectives. The staff members
on the board seemed aware of some of the shortfalls of the museum reinforced by the
answers given by the patron and volunteers of the museum. The major themes broke
down as follows:
The Good The Bad
Exhibit Presentation Professional
presentations
Good use of space
Balance in historical
representations
Flow – signage need
to promulgate it
Communications Effective use of
online channels
Missing the mark on
traditional channels
like newspapers
Answers from the follow-up questions on exhibit presentation shed light on how the
museum can incorporate the temporary exhibits to unify the flow of the museum and
respondent seem to unify in the them of “fun” for the temporary exhibits. The group
expressed that while communications were hitting the mark with digital channels such as
social media accounts and blogs, traditional methods were being overlooked, such as
8. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 8
placement in newspapers, both the news publications and the local entertainment guides.
Conclusion
The focus group session shed light on a lack of balance for the exhibits and the
communications efforts with regards to the channels deployed in relaying messages to the
general public. The temporary exhibits can be an affective way to unify the exhibits, and
when coupled with the additional flow signage to promulgate movement as noted by the
focus group, should result in a different experience. The use of a wider survey of people
would help identify subject matter; a list of questions relating to Seabee related time
periods and asking people which one they’d like to see presented will help plan out the
schedule to make the museum more appealing to visitors. Similarly, we can assess which
channels are more effective in which to communicate to people. While the perception
may exists that we are ignoring traditional media, it may be that media is simply ignoring
what we’re presenting, which can be revealed in a larger quantitative survey process.
9. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 9
QUALITATIVE SURVEY
The purpose of the survey was to capture qualitative data that extends beyond the
sentiments expressed during the focus group. Those sentiments we wanted to qualify
were the satisfaction of the museum’s experiences because ultimately, it’s the patron’s
perceptions we need more of in order to understand those expressed in the focus group.
The Setting
As with the focus group, the first step in deploying the survey was to consider both
bias opportunity and reach. For bias in deployment, there is less opportunity due to the
fact that the responses are given anonymously, so interviewer bias does not present itself
in the way it can with focus groups.
To ensure equal coverage
and accessibility to the survey,
Survey Monkey was used to
capture responses online and
track results. An invitation was
extended via the museum’s
Facebook account.
But that left the question of
how to capture results from
those who physically visit the
museum, rather than simply had
access to the museum’s web
properties. In such case, a printed copy of the survey was made available at the front
10. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 10
desk. The volunteers on duty were instructed to invite patrons to participate in the survey
as they were signing into the logbook. The responses were then transferred to Survey
Monkey. The original intention was to simply print out the simplified URL to the Survey
Monkey page offering the questions on an invitation card. To maximize participation on
such a short timeline, the printed survey in lieu of the invitation card was preferred.
Data Analysis
Over the four-day availability 17 responses were received. Appendix B offers a full
breakdown of the responses provided by Survey Monkey. The questions were a mix of
demographical questions, Likert scale, and one open ended question. This information
will provide a good picture of who is responding. The sampling was varied with most of
the respondents falling into veterans, age group 45-59. This is representative of the
patrons that typically visit the museum on a regular basis.
The rest of the questions explore satisfaction in the museum’s exhibits, preferred
methods of communication and likelihood of repeat visitation and referral. Admittedly,
the survey was limited in scope due to the nature of the “basic” account with Survey
Monkey that limited the survey to ten questions. Ideally, follow-up questions would be
used that would have asked open ended questions to assess any answer that was below
the top answer to assess what improvements could be made. This is why of the ten
questions, the last question of the survey was an open-ended catch-all question to give
respondents an opportunity to propose suggestions.
Overall, survey participants expressed great satisfaction with the museum exhibits,
would visit the museum again and are highly likely to refer others to visit the museum.
The open-ended question expressed three major themes:
11. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum 11
The STEM Center is highly favorable for patrons with families.
Equal coverage for museum topics is desirable.
The museum is nice overall.
Of note in the open-ended question is that not all participants elected to answer it, six no
responses total.
Conclusion
While the data presents a good picture of the overall satisfaction of the different
demographics that comprise the museum’s patronage, the open-ended question offered a
slightly deeper perspective that emulated the topics discussed in the focus group. The
STEM Center has been well received, but the topic of equal emphasis on the subject
matter for the exhibits popped up which mirrors focus group. This is useful in prompting
an actionable response plan in which we incorporate the feedback from both the survey
and the focus group. Business Research Lab (2013) also notes the first major step of
taking action on these results is communicating them to the museum staff so everyone is
aware of the overall performance of the museum and they can begin to derive ways to
improve upon some of the shortfalls identified in the survey and focus groups. As the
museum is still planning out future exhibits as part of its long-term interpretive plan, the
timing of these surveys and focus groups is fortuitous in that we can take this feedback
into consideration to plan out the temporary exhibits that will address some of the equal
coverage concerns.
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REFERENCES
Business Research Lab. (2013). Acting on the Results of an Employee Satisfaction
Survey. Retrieved June 20, 2015 from
http://www.busreslab.com/index.php/articles-and-stories/esat-key-steps/acting-
on-the-results-of-an-employee-satisfaction-survey/
Chenail, R. J. (2011). Interviewing the Investigator: Strategies for Addressing
Instrumentation and Researcher Bias Concerns in Qualitative Research. The
Qualitative Report, 16(1), 255-262. Retrieved June 7, 2015 from
http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol16/iss1/16
Creswell, J. (2015). 1. In Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Method
Approaches. (pp. 3-15). New York, NY: SAGE.
Elliot & Associates. (2005). Guidelines for conducting a focus group. Retrieved June 12,
2015 from
http://vizedhtmlcontent.next.ecollege.com/CurrentCourse/How_to_Conduct_a_Fo
cus_Group.pdf
Kadens, R. J., Linda, G., & Prince, M. (Eds.). (2012). Leading edge marketing research:
21st-century tools and practices. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781452240558
13. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Appendix A
13
FOCUS GROUP TRANSCRIPT
Location: U.S. Navy Seabee Museum Conference Room
Date: June 11, 2015
Invitees
Five (5) participants
Six (6) invited
One (1) no-show
Moderator: Aramis Ramirez
Respondent Profiles
#1: Hanako Wakatsuki, Female, 31
Staff (Education Specialist), employed at the museum for 1 year
#2: Kim Crowell, Female, 58
Staff (Curator), employed at the museum 7 years
#3: Jean Noe, Female, 24
Volunteer, worked at the museum for 4 months
#4: Jim Parker, 77
Volunteer, worked at the museum for 5 years
#5: Joe Agee, 28
Patron, U.S. Navy Seabee, served 6 years in job
14. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Appendix A
14
Note: bolded questions represent those derived prior to the focus group session.
Moderator: Hey guys, thanks again for agreeing to participate in this discussion. I think
it’s best to remind everyone what our goals for this conversation. First, we’re looking to
discover where this museum is falling short in our presentations and communications, but
also acknowledge where our strengths lie. Secondly, we’d like to assess those same
aspects in communication efforts. I’ll be here to ask a few questions, but mostly facilitate
a conversation. We have a 45-minute block for this, so please be respectful to the
conversation and I’ll bring things back in if they go too astray; we want to be respectful
of everyone’s time. As you can see we have a variety of perspectives at the table. So with
that, first question is pretty obvious…what do you think the museum is lacking in its
presentations?
#1: I think the flow of the museum makes it difficult for patrons to figure out the timeline
we’re trying to communicate
#2: I can shed some light on at least a little bit of that. See when this building was first
designed, there was a huge focus placed on World War II, so much so, some of the spaces
were built around large objects. Of course some people in this group already know that
when the building was complete, some of the exhibits were left unfinished because the
foundation fronting the money overshot the costs. We had to make due with the spaces
and what the Navy could afford to give us fiscally.
#1: I’ve learned that, but it seems like the holes we tried to fill in ourselves lack
coherence. We have some nice presentations, but the flow seems off.
Moderator: Joe, Jean, Jim, as visitors and volunteers what were your first impressions
of the museum’s presentations?
#5: I don’t know about what goes on behind the scenes, but I liked what I experienced. I
was mostly curious about why some exhibits had a larger emphasis than others…
Moderator: Can you be more specific?
#5: I felt like World War II had a huge space, and from what I understand there’s even
more space for it that’s not open yet because what we can see is just Atlantic Theater.
#2: That’s what I was talking about with the design of the building. There was supposed
to be a huge focus on World War II. I think we voiced some of our opinions on the design
because I know at least for myself I thought it was a little shortsighted to put so much
into it. It lacks coverage of other historical events.
#5: Yeah, I mean, my family has military ties to Vietnam and Iraq, but those spaces are
lacking.
15. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Appendix A
15
#4: I agree. I’m a Vietnam vet and I want to see more on that. But it’s really not about
this is all I care about so that’s all there should be. I think it’s more about finding that
right balance.
#1: Right, but that also goes into how things are planned. If we did a lot more of these
and actually heard from people and voiced our own concerns, there would be a different
process on how things are developed.
Moderator: So we have concerns about balance, what else could be done or presented
differently?
#1: Smaller things.
Moderator: Such as?
#1: Signage for one. We already have an issue with flow, what makes it even more an
issue at least for me is that basic signage would direct people to alleviate that.
#2: I agree with that as well. Working in the old building where we pretty much filled
every blank space with anything and everything, a piece of that mentality carried over to
this place. We did right by planning out the spaces here, but those small things should be
a part of how we do things.
#4: It would definitely make it a lot easier when directing people from the front desk
where to go. Or even a sign that says ‘Start Here’ would make things probably a little
easier – if only for those on self-guided tours.
Moderator: Before we move on, are there any other things you’d like to mention?
[no response]
Moderator: Ok, so what are some things going well?
#2: I think despite some of what we’ve talked about, this museum is really nice,
especially if you knew where we were coming from. It really is a professional
presentation, which was the goal for when we were planning this place out.
#1: Yeah, I think the build and the panels, as well as our accessibility lends to that
experience.
#4: The space we have here make it easy for people to just get lost in the stories.
Moderator: what is most appealing to your favorite exhibits?
16. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Appendix A
16
#3: Well my most favorite exhibit is the newest one, the STEM center. It’s fun, inviting
and interactive, really allows kids to just run around a bit and explore, which is
something I thought this place lacked when I first visited.
#5: The guys in my unit were here for that STEM opening and I heard a lot of the same
things.
#2: I know we talked about balance, but I really like the WWII presentation, especially
with it’s placement after the boot camp and originations of the Seabees exhibit.
Moderator: With the permanent galleries aside, what topics would you like to cover
with the temporary ones?
#2: I’ve always wanted to fun things with the temporary ones…like the Seabee Queen. I
think we’re still planning on doing it, just that it took to the back burner when our two
newest exhibits were being planned out.
#1: I think fun things like that, or even a look at pop culture; there have been a lot of
entertainment things we could include, and even USO show artifacts in the collection. It
would really speak to the new generations, since the permanent galleries already speak to
the older ones.
#4: Well as the young buck in this group [group laughter], I’d like to see fun things like
that Seabee Queen idea – well, I know my wife sure would.
#5: I think something physical for the younger males – where you can lift things, build,
climb; that’s all part of what we do. And it’s fun, might even put it outside in that
fountain area where there’s room.
#2: Oh, I like that. It’s not something I see being only temporary, but it’s certainly
something to consider for future building projects…a sort of STEM center, but for older
patrons than the youth groups targeted for the STEM centers.
#3: A jungle gym for adults.
[group laughter]
#1: But we also need to consider our public programming because that also gets people
interested in the museum.
Moderator: Great point; jumped a little ahead of me actually, but yeah. As the education
specialist, how satisfied are you with the public education programs?
#1: It’s ben a few month but I think we’ve got a great start with our education programs;
they give the staff an outlet to share their work and how it contributes to the museum.
17. Increasing Patronage at the Seabee Museum
Appendix A
17
#3: I thought the last lecture on the American Revolution was oddly rather interesting. It
wasn’t so stuffy, which is the perception I think people have with presentations at a
museum.
Moderator: Can you elaborate on this perception?
#3: Well it’s not really surprising that the younger visitors find the idea of ‘lectures’
[stressed] at a museum a bit – stiff.
#1: that’s a nice way to put it. But that’s also why I think the new stuff we have in the
museum will help, especially the STEM center.
Moderator: What part do you think communications plays in that?
#2: It’s important to ensure that our communications reflect what we do here.
#1: Which, so far, I think does. We seem to hit all the right channels from what I could
tell. We’re on social media and have a blog that everyone contributes to and shares their
work.
#5: We share a lot of the posts in our unit – our commander likes the historical stuff and
encourages us to visit the museum.
#4: The online stuff is great, but we can’t forget the older stuff like the newspapers. I
mean, how many times have we brought up the local paper’s lack of mentioning our
events?
#2: Yeah, I think we’re always hearing about it from our retired vets about how much
they feel ignored and the communications from the museum should help with that.
Moderator: so for clarification, the online communications are hitting the right marks, but
traditional channels like the local media are lacking?
#4: I’d agree with that.
Moderator: Are there any other things that you feel need to be addressed with regard
to improving museum offerings or communications?
[No answer]
Moderator: Well thank you all for your time.
