Actual/Virtual Visits: What Are The Links?

Wendy A. Thomas and Sheila Carey, Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), Canada

Abstract

As museums expand their on-line profile, they continue to ask what a virtual space can mean to an audience, the ways an audience can experience it, and how the virtual space relates to the museum's physical space. How does on-line content relate to in-house content, and should one reflect or complement the other? What do museum visitors look for on a museum's Web site, for example, either before visiting a museum in person or following an in-person visit? This paper will discuss the implications of a study undertaken in 2004 by the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN) in collaboration with the Canadian museum community, and will provide museums with an understanding of the link between visits to the virtual space and to the physical space, enabling them to develop front-end and back-end content and means for audience engagement relevant to their visitors' needs.

Keywords: visitors' study, museum Web sites, on-line content

Introduction and Background

As museums expand their on-line profile, they continue to ask what a virtual presence can mean to an audience, how the audience can experience it, what the audience wants from it, and how a virtual space can relate to the museum's physical space.

In developing their virtual presence for more effective audience engagement, museums need to know what visitors to both spaces are seeking, how museums can meet their needs, and what the correlation is between visits to the virtual space and those to the physical space. Museums have a history of visitor awareness and visitor need surveys. As the Internet is a newer environment, there is less information about visitor needs and patterns in this virtual space.

Since the launch of the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC, http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/), in March 2001, the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN, http://www.chin.gc.ca/) has been researching the needs of Web visitors to assist the museum community in understanding the needs of this new type of visitor. CHIN has used a number of means, including focus groups on the Virtual Museum of Canada itself; on-line surveys to determine the audience for the VMC, and user interests; a database of user feedback received; and a two-pronged in-house and on-line survey to determine the relationship between the two spaces.

In-House And On-line Survey

Since the widespread adoption of Internet use, there has been concern among some museum professionals that access to on-line museum content might decrease public appetite for visiting museums. Several studies have explored visitors' uses of and interactions with museum Web sites (Chadwick 1997, Chadwick 2000, Hafner 2000, Kravchyna & Hastings 2002, Johnson 2000, Sabin 1997, Soren and Lemelin 2002, Pre-Digital Cultural Content Forum papers 2004). There is anecdotal evidence to suggest a link between the two, suggesting that on-line content actually increases the interest in visiting a museum. One of the most common uses of museum Web sites is for visitors planning a visit to the physical museum. Most on-line visitor surveys are by their very nature self-selecting; that is, respondents have chosen to do the survey, and thus the surveys do not have the sample methodology of an in-house survey. In addition, the people who choose to participate are possibly those who are most comfortable with the Internet, and such respondents may not be representative of the general on-line population.

Some other studies (Loomis & Elias, 2003) have tried to determine the links between Web sites and interest in visiting museums and libraries, finding that Web site use would increase the likelihood of visiting the museum. However, it was felt that there was need for a large-scale study to examine these issues. In 2003, CHIN proposed a national study intended to provide museums with an understanding of the link between visits to the virtual space and physical space, enabling them to develop front-end and back-end content.

In the fall of 2003, CHIN contracted with Statistics Canada to develop the methodology for a nation-wide survey, in cooperation with 60 museums of all sizes across Canada. CHIN developed a two-pronged approach, with in-house visitor surveys carried out in July and September 2004, and an on-line survey made available from July to September on the Web sites of 35 Canadian museums and on the VMC site.

Statistics Canada developed a methodology intended to obtain information from museums in all geographic regions, and of every size. Size was based on the number of full-time employees (Canadian Museums Association, 2003), categorized as small (2 or fewer, including volunteer-run), medium (3 to 49 employees), and large (50 or more employees). Invitations were sent to museums, based on a list generated by Statistics Canada, along with questions seeking information on their hours of operation and their estimated number of visitors for the survey periods, based on previous visitor statistics. The survey was carried out during two two-week time periods. The first two-week period was in July, to interview visitors in the tourist season, and the second was in September, to attempt to capture the opinions of local visitors. Museums were assigned a schedule consisting of two days in each of the four weeks, two hours on each day, for a total of 16 hours. Along with the survey and assigned schedule, museums were sent instructions on how to undertake the in-house surveys. During those time periods, the interviewer was instructed to count people as they were leaving, and interview every nth person.

Survey of Visitors to Museums: Highlights of Results

The in-person survey received 2,258 valid responses. The on-line survey received 510 valid responses from 35 museum Web site links and 57 valid responses from one link on the "Find a Museum" page of the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC). Responses to the in-person survey were fewer than expected, both in number of museums participating and in respondents. Museums did not participate for a number of reasons: insufficient staff available to carry out the survey or to supervise hired personnel; carrying out their own surveys; full programming schedules; or, for seasonal museums, they were not open during the September survey period. Some museums experienced fewer than hoped for visitors in the summer and autumn of 2004, which they thought could be attributed to several factors: reduced travel post-9/11, higher fuel costs, still-lingering fears after the SARS crisis, a higher Canadian dollar against US currency, and even unusually good weather! However, on the in-person survey, the proportion of respondents who used the Internet to plan a museum visit was higher than expected.

Survey Results

Question 1: Do you use the internet, either at home, work, school or any other location?

• 81% said "yes"
• result didn't vary by province in which the museum was located
• 87% for visitors to large museums compared with 76% for small
• 76% for those who visit any museum less than once a year compared with 89% for those who visit any museum once a month or more
• 91% for those aged 15-24 compared with 80% for 55-64 and 53% for 65 and over.

Large museums tend to be in urban settings; regular museum-goers and age groups from 15-64 were more likely to use the Internet. However, the 81% positive response rate is still quite high compared to several surveys conducted in the past two years (Yahoo! Canada, 2004, Statistics Canada, 2003, Ipsos-Reid, 2002, Leger Marketing, 2003, Nielsen//Net Ratings, ca 2004). In a subsequent study, it would be worthwhile to ask about frequency of Internet use and the reasons for which they use the internet (e.g. searching for information, e-mail, etc.). As the digital generation grows up, frequent Internet users may tend to use the Internet as the first resource to consult, including for planning museum visits.

Question 2: Did you use the internet in preparing your visit to this museum?

• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 1 (1833 respondents)
• 22% respondents said "yes"
• Higher for Ontario (27%) and lower for Quebec (18%) and the West (19%)
• Didn't vary by museum size
• Higher for first time visitors (24%) than for those who visit this museum at least once a year (18%)
• Lower for those who visit any museum about once a year or less (15%) than for those who visit a few times a year or more (27%)
• Lower for 65+ (12%) and 15-24 (18%)
• Higher for those not currently living in Canada (27% compared with 21%).

It is logical that the highest response would come from first-time visitors. Although it may appear that 22% responding positively is low, it is understandable when compared with responses to Question 7: the main reasons given for not using the Internet to plan the visit were that visits were spontaneous or unplanned or respondents were already very familiar with the museum. 21% of respondents who answered "no" to this question (see Question 7) planned their visit using print and other media, suggesting that for those who plan their visits, there is room for growth in the use of the Internet as another planning resource.

Question 3: What are the Web sites on which you looked for information about this museum?

Table 1: What are the Web sites on which you looked for
information about this museum?

• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 2 (392 respondents)
• About 25% of the "Other Web sites" referred to search engine.

It is not surprising that the museum in which the survey was conducted would have the highest percentage of respondents checking that museum's Web site. Museums and the Virtual Museum of Canada are recommended to create links to tourism sites and to Chamber of Commerce sites.

Question 4: What were you looking for?

Table 2: What were you looking for?

• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 2 (392 respondents)
• Answers to "Other" were varied.

The results confirm that, in planning a museum visit, respondents looked for general information and, to a lesser extent, information on special events on museums' Web sites. Given that this was an exit survey, the responses to this question when compared with those to Question 9 are revealing: prior to visiting, very practical information was sought; however, after having visited the museum, visitors were inspired to learn more about the collections and to seek richer content.

Question 5: Which statement best describes your situation?

• 30% said they found information on the museum over the Internet and that made them want to visit it (these respondents were directed to Question 8)
• 70% said they wanted to visit the museum so they went looking for information over the Internet
• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 2 (392 respondents).

This indicates that while many respondents had decided to visit a museum and then used the Internet to plan their visit, others were inspired to visit the museum when they found information about it on-line and then used the Internet to plan an in-person visit. Future studies could ask more detailed questions about the information that inspired them to visit (was there a particular event or activity? a specific piece in the collection? the architecture?).

Question 6: Did the information you found on the internet increase, decrease or have no impact on your level of interest for visiting the museum?

• 57% said the information increased their interest, while 43% said it had no impact. No one said it decreased their interest, but of course, the respondents were in the museum and had therefore already decided to go and visit.
• Only asked to respondents to Question 5 who said that they looked for information over the Internet because they wanted to visit the museum (279 respondents).

The respondents to this question had indicated that they were already planning to visit a museum, and either experienced an increase in interest or no change in their interest (i.e. they still planned to visit). Given this, and the fact that no one responded that it decreased their interest, it suggests that a visit to the museum's Web site would not replace a visit in person, and is likely to encourage a visit. Determining the type of content (images, information about the collections, the institution, or the architecture, the design of the site, the organization of the site content) that increased the interest could be part of a future study. Further study could also distinguish between interest in the form and content of a site.

For two weeks in November 2004, CHIN also carried out a pop-up survey from the VMC that appeared when visitors left any page of the VMC site. One of the questions, "Does visiting a museum Website inspire you to physically visit the museum?" had 67% of 435 respondents saying, "yes."

Question 7: What is the main reason you didn't use the internet in preparing your visit to this museum?

Table 3: What is the main reason you didn't use the internet
in preparing your visit to this museum?

• Only asked to those who answered "no" to Question 2 (1441 respondents)
• Of those who chose "Other", 36% said they just did not think of looking on the Internet or that they did not know the museum had a Web site, while 24% said either that they came with family or friends whom they were visiting or that they came because a family member, a friend or someone else recommended the visit (which could be combined with "didn't plan the visit")
• For large museums, the proportion of visitors who said they knew the museum very well was up to 40%
• In Quebec, 14% said they knew the museum while 40% said they did not plan the visit. In Ontario, 43% said they knew the museum while 20% said they did not plan the visit. The other results did not vary much by region.
• 65% of those who visited the museum about once a year, or more than once a year, said they didn't use the Internet to plan their visit because they knew the museum very well.  

Of the 78% who answered "no" to Question 2, about 70% did not plan the visit, either didn't think of using or didn't have access to the Internet, or knew the museum well. In other words, their visits may have been spontaneous, or organized by somebody else, or did not require planning because the respondent was familiar with the museum.

However, for those who stated that they planned to visit the museum's Web site following the visit, the highest response was for more information on the collections, a schedule of special events, images of objects in the collection, and virtual exhibitions. At the same time, 57% of respondents to Question 6 stated that the on-line information increased their interest in visiting. Given this information, having rich collections-related content on the museum's virtual space would not have a negative impact on actual visits to museum, and could increase interest in visiting in person.

Question 8: Do you plan to visit the museum's Web space in the coming days?

A note on terminology: the term "Web space" was used in this survey to reflect the fact that some museums may not have their own Web sites, but do have a presence or a space on the Web site of another organization, such as the Virtual Museum of Canada, or a Chamber of Commerce or a tourism agency.

• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 1 (1833 respondents)
• 39% said "yes"
• 48% of those who visit museums once a month or more said "yes"
• 27% of 15-24 said "yes" (group with lower proportion).

It is worth noting that this question was asked as a filter to Question 9. Asking the question may elicit a "yes" from people who would not have thought of it unless they were asked. Thus, the true proportion of "yes" may be lower than indicated.

Question 9: What will you be looking for?

Table 4: What will you be looking for?

• Only asked to those who answered "yes" to Question 8 (715 respondents)
• Images of objects in the collections (32%) and virtual exhibitions (26%) seemed more popular as a follow-up to a visit than when preparing a visit, compared with Question 4 (8% for images and 6% for virtual exhibitions)
• In "Other", no single item stood out.

Results indicate that, following a visit to a museum, survey respondents seek rich content such as collections information, images, and virtual exhibitions on museum Web sites. Interest in the schedule of special events raises the possibility that respondents were already considering subsequent visits. Interest in learning resources was more than double pre-visit Internet use, suggesting that museums should provide post-visit educational content to complement their in-house resources.

The low response to the more interactive possibilities on a museum's Web site (on-line shopping, Web-based activities, and discussions or question sessions) could be due to several factors. Future research could explore whether some respondents in the higher age range may still be developing familiarity with the Internet and simply lack experience in or awareness of these possibilities, or lack confidence in on-line security; and whether younger respondents who have grown up in the digital era may not yet have developed an interest in engaging in this type of interaction with museums. Ongoing research could examine whether, with increased frequency of Internet use and greater comfort with e-space, these activities could grow in interest for older respondents; whereas younger respondents might simply expect this type of interaction as their interests develop.

Profile Of Visitors

Question 10: How often do you visit this museum?

Table 5: How often do you visit this museum?

• Proportion of first time visitors was lower in Ontario (51%) and higher in Quebec (75%) and the Atlantic (77%). It is important to note that the visitors in provinces refer to the province in which the museum is located, not the province in which the respondent resides.
• Proportion of first time visitors was lower at large museums (49%) than at medium and small museums (69%).

Not surprisingly, the proportion of first time visitors was higher among visitors not currently living in Canada (92%).

Question 11: How often do you visit museums in general?

Table 6: How often do you visit museums in general?

• Asked of all respondents (2,258 valid responses)
• The proportion of those who visit museums a few times a year or once a month or more was higher in Quebec (67%) and lower in the Atlantic (53%)
• The same proportion was lower for people currently living in Canada (54%) than for the others (74%). This question was not restricted to Canadian museums.

Thus, 84% of all survey respondents visit museums annually, and 59% visit several times per year.

Other demographics

• 47% of visitors were male and 53% were female
• 77% currently live in Canada and 23% elsewhere. It is worth recalling that the first two-week period of the survey included the peak tourist season, in July.

Table 7 : Age Distribution

For age distribution, the interviewer asked to speak to the person who did the most in planning the visit. Therefore, this age distribution was probably not representative of the age distribution of all visitors.

Survey of Visitors to Museums' Web Space: Highlights of Results

The first column gives the answers from the 510 respondents who took the survey from a museum site; the second column gives the same thing for the 57 respondents who took the survey on the VMC site; and the last column gives the answers for all the 567 respondents.

Question 1: In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Virtual Museum of Canada (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/)?

Table 8:In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Virtual Museum of Canada (http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/)?

• 56% of museum Web site visitors had never visited the VMC
• 58% of VMC visitors were first-time visitors.

Question 2: In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Web space of a Canadian museum?

Table 9: In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Web space of a Canadian museum?

• 56% of VMC visitors had not visited the virtual space of a Canadian museum in the past 12 months
• 40% of museum Web site visitors were visiting for the first time
• 83% of those who physically visit Canadian museums once a month or more and 47% of those who do so a few times a year said they visited the virtual space of a Canadian museum at least 5 times in the past twelve months. This proportion was 11% for the others.
• Only 12% of visitors aged 65 and over said they visited 5 times or more.

Future research could ask if a broader audience visits the Virtual Museum of Canada than those who may have been navigating the Internet in search of information, which led them to the VMC. In analyzing VMC feedback messages received at CHIN, in conjunction with the analysis of server logs, a profile is starting to emerge of people who are seeking information on a specific topic or an answer to a specific question, conducting a search, and arriving at the VMC. This type of access brings new audiences to museums.

Question 3: In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Web space of a museum from another country?

Table 10: In the past twelve months, how often did you visit the Web space of a museum from another country?

• Proportion of "never" was lower for respondents in the 55-64 age group (39%) and higher for people under the age of 25 (61%) and age 65 and older (57%)
• Proportion of "never" was similar for people from Canada compared with other countries, but the proportion of "5 times and more" was lower for Canadians (21% compared with 32%).

In other words, 54% had visited the virtual space of a museum outside Canada.

Question 4: How often do you physically visit Canadian museums?

Table 11: How often do you physically visit Canadian museums?

• Only 13% of those who didn't visit the virtual space of any Canadian museum in the past twelve months said they go to museums at least a few times a year. In comparison, that proportion was up to 89% for those who visited a virtual space more than 8 times
• 15% of respondents from other countries said they physically visit Canadian museums at least a few times a year. About half said "never," but they were people who were looking at the Web site of a Canadian museum and voluntarily decided to take the survey.
• 66% of respondents visit a Canadian museum in a year, and 52% visit more than once.

Question 5: How did you find out about the site of the museum from which you took this survey?

(For those who took the survey on the VMC site, the question was "How did you find out about the Web site of the Virtual Museum of Canada?")

Table 12: How did you find out about the site of the museum from which you took this survey? 

• The last option was not offered to people who took the survey on the VMC site
• The answers provided in the Please specify for Link from another site and Other were very diverse.

Search engines were most popular for respondents who never physically visit Canadian museums (42%) or who visit less than once a year (39%). A link from another museum's Web space was most often cited by people who visit museums once a month or more (31%, which was the most popular answer in that group) or a few times a year (26%).

In the VMC pop-up exit survey (November 2004), 32% of 448 respondents learned about the VMC from a search engine and 17% from the museum Web site.

The importance of optimizing museum on-line content for search engines is clear, as is creating reciprocal links with other museums.

Question 6: In visiting this site today, were you: Planning a visit to a museum; Following-up on a recent visit to a museum; Neither.

Table 13: In visiting this site today, were you...

• Respondents who frequently visit Canadian museums (physically, a few times a year or once a month or more) were more likely to be following up on a recent visit (19%) than the others (12%); this shouldn't come as a surprise

Also, respondents who physically visit once a month or more were least likely to be planning a visit (22%).

53% (because of rounding) of respondents were either planning a visit or following up on a visit: 16% of respondents were following up on a recent visit. Question 8 of the in-house survey had 39% of respondents stating that they planned to visit the museum's virtual space after the visit. However, because the populations were very different, it is not possible to make a straight comparison.

Question 7: Did you also visit the Web site BEFORE visiting the museum?

This question was only asked to those who answered, in Question 6, that they were following up on a recent visit (88 respondents)

• 58% said "yes" and 42% said "no"

Question 8: What are you looking for on a museum's Web space?

Table 14: What are you looking for on a museum's Web space?

Answers to this question didn't vary much according to frequency of visits to museums' virtual space or to frequency of physical visits.

Interest was highest in general information and rich content such as collections-related information and virtual exhibitions.

The on-line survey had roughly the same level of interest in on-line shopping and Web based activities (on-line discussion forums or question sessions) as the in-house survey (Question 9). Further research could explore the reasons for this generally low level of interest.

26% of 291 respondents to the VMC pop-up survey (November 2004) listed student/homework/research as their main reason for visiting the VMC.

Question 9: What kind of information on the collections do you expect to find on a museum's Web space?

Table 15: What kind of information on the collections do you expect to find on a museum's Web space?

Respondents were asked to select all that apply; therefore there could be multiple responses from individual respondents. Virtual space visitors clearly expected to find contextual information and images, one not outweighing the other significantly.

Question 10: What do you think are the three main goals of a museum's Web space? Put a "1" in the box beside the item you think is the most important, a "2" beside the second most important and a "3" beside the third most important.

Table 16: What do you think are the three main goals of a museum's Web space?

• About 15% of survey respondents didn't provide an answer to this question; thus the columns don't add up to 100%
• If a score was attributed to each goal by giving 3 points for a first place selection, 2 points for a second place and 1 point for a third place, the ordering would be the same as in the above table that uses an "unweightedä top 3.

About the Respondents

The responses here support the data collected in the rest of the survey.

Table 17: Respondents by sex

Table 18: Respondents by age

Table 19: Respondents by place of residence

Conclusions

The preliminary survey findings confirm much anecdotal information that there are links between on-line and in-person visits. Museums that put collections information and images on their Web sites will not reduce visits to the physical museum, and will likely enhance interest in making in-person visits to the museum. A high number of visitors wish to see images of the collection after an in-person visit. Therefore, museums that put their images and collections information on-line do NOT discourage people from visiting a museum. This suggests that visitors would not be satisfied with seeing on-line images of collections in place of the "real thing".

The main type of content respondents looked for or expected to find on a museum's Web site was general museum information (hours of opening, location, fees, etc.), collections information, images, schedule of special events or exhibitions, and virtual exhibitions. Visitors' needs would be met by providing ancillary or complementary information about the collections.

Some on-line respondents expected to find content that would help them with their learning-related projects, whether it was for professional research or university or school projects.

To extend their reach to people planning a museum visit, museums should establish reciprocal links with the Virtual Museum of Canada, and with at least local and provincial tourism or Chamber of Commerce Web sites. As well, the Virtual Museum of Canada, which provides a national entry point to museums, should establish links to national and provincial tourism organization sites. As many respondents found museum information using a search engine, search engine optimization is important for museum Web sites.

Further study can look at the aspects or content of museum Web sites that engaged the on-line visitor sufficiently to increase interest in visiting the museum. The relationship between frequency of Internet use and Web sites as the primary resource in planning visits deserves more study.

The final report of the surveys will be available on the CHIN Web site (http://www.chin.gc.ca/) before the Museums and the Web 2005 conference, and additional results will be presented at the conference.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Canadian museum community for its valuable support of this project. CHIN greatly appreciates their involvement. Martin Provost, Senior Statistical Consultant at Statistics Canada not only helped in planning the survey, but also provided this preliminary analysis of the data and reviewed our interpretations. Kim Gauvin, Audience and Program Analyst at CHIN, made numerous helpful suggestions. The authors also thank Martine Lachance, Diane McGarry, Pierrette Gauthier, and Terry Smith, colleagues at CHIN who were instrumental in providing administrative support.

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Editor's Note: Tables corrected May 16, 2005.

Cite as:

Thomas, W. and S. Carey, Actual/Virtual Visits: What Are The Links?, in J. Trant and D. Bearman (eds.). Museums and the Web 2005: Proceedings, Toronto: Archives & Museum Informatics, published March 31, 2005 at http://www.archimuse.com/mw2005/papers/thomas/thomas.html