There is a significant body of literature on the evaluation of Museum Web sites as a whole, exploring both quantitative and qualitative approaches. For example, Peacock (2002) developed a framework of assessing whether a Web site meets user needs, based on log-based metrics. Soren and Lemelin (2004) added survey methods to Web log analysis, in looking at a range of Museum Web sites. Kravchyna and Hastings (2002) focused on survey methods to examine in detail the information needs and information-seeking behaviours of Museum Web site visitors, considering museum Web sites as a whole, including on-line collections and images.
Usability is defined as the “extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use”(Karat 1997, p. 34). Usability was first studied by the Human Computer Interaction researchers in the process of making products more usable (Venkatesh and Agarwal 2006). Recently, Information Systems (IS) researchers have also investigated usability and issues linked to the design of systems. Given that the Internet has gained so much in importance, usability criteria are regularly developed and applied to online interfaces.
Most of prior research on website usability has been conducted on commercial or business websites, the most frequent research outcome has been purchasing behaviour. Researchers, for example, argue that usability can increase on-line sales (Kuan et al. 2003). However, Hoffman and Novak (1996) encourage researchers to study non-commercial activities. Offering a complementary point of view, Pavlou and Fygenson (2006) suggest that purchasing is not the only behaviour that should be taken into account in online environment. Their study highlights an additional behavioral variable: acquiring information. Bélanger et al. (2006) explain that the success of each type of website should be assessed via specific criteria, based on the aims of the business. Museum websites are more related to the “Internet presence websites” in Hoffman et al.’s discussion (1995). Indeed, the primary goal is not sales, even if some museum interfaces support purchasing through online boutiques. By way of contrast to commercial sites, “Internet presence websites,” like museum sites, aim at advertising and providing information to visitors (Hoffman et al. 1995). This advertising is intended to draw more people to the museum, as a mean of audience development. This idea is supported by Lagrosen (2003), who looked at how the use of Internet by Swedish museums, provided valuable online services to visitors. As a matter of fact Lagrosen explains that “it is the visit and the experiences that the visitors have that are the product of the museum” (p. 134). Consequently, encouraging future visits is an important goal for museum websites. Further goals are, as for physical museums, are life enrichment, knowledge enhancement, learning and entertainment. Indeed, these goals are consistent with museum missions of education and entertainment. The aesthetic dimension can be considered as an essential element for cultural sites. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language gives this definition of aesthetics: “an artistically beautiful or pleasing appearance’’. According to the research made by Hassenzahl, the aesthetics influences attitudes and behaviors in both offline and online contexts. Given the overlap of entertainment and education in museum missions, the most important usability categories for such websites, highlighted by Zhang et al. (2001), respectively navigation and visual design, will both be relevant for museum websites. In addition, Hassenzahl (2001) points out that ‘pleasantness’ like aesthetics will be more important for non-task oriented products.
Aesthetics should also be included in the design of museum websites because museums are supposed to be beautiful places, so, by transference, visitors will also expect their websites to be beautiful. Forbes (1941) asserts that museums should provide aesthetic experiences to the public in order to enhance learning. He also argues that art museums are the most concerned with aesthetic issues; their chief role is to display beauty to visitors. “To be effective the museum must bring beauty to buildings, their exteriors, their interiors and contents” (Forbes 1941, p. 6).
Supporting this view, Lin and Gregor (2006) interviewed five museum experts who consider appearance (colors, text, images) to be one of the most important criteria to enhance enjoyment of learning on museum websites. Indeed, museum websites tend to be very colorful: hot colors such as orange, yellow or red are commonly used.
3.METHODOLOGY
The purpose of this research is to analyze the use of museum websites by the visitors and how important is the presence on the Web to offer the audience a satisfying experience. A case study had to be chosen to limit the research, the Tate Modern, with its award-winning website seemed to be an appropriate case. The methods used in this research were in depth interviews with museum professionals and semi-structured interviews with the public. These methodologies enabled me to collect quantitative data as well as qualitative at the same time.
At Tate Modern fifty semi-structured interviews were conducted to members of the audience during the first week of May (Tuesday 8th 2010, Wednesday 9th 2010, Thursday 10th 2010 and Friday 11th 2010) during the afternoon hours, between 14.00pm and 16.00pm).
The respondent were obviously restricted to people who already were interested in arts in general, (being visitors of the gallery) and to those who have decided to answer the questions. At that time the museum hosted, as well as the permanent collection, the exhibit ‘Exposed Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera’.
The respondents have been approached in all the different levels of the museum. The interviews were ‘designed’ to gain information about their attitudes towards the museum, their interest and their experiences with the museum Web Site. The interview also questioned their history and background in order to collect quantitative data for the research.
The interviews completed were successful at backing up the literature review on the subject. The final comments on the museum website were extremely informative as the audience was left free to express issues and feelings on the matter.
The information gained by the public interviews was to be supported by two interviews involving the former Tate Web Developer Hugh Williams (05/05/10) and the Tate Kids editor Sharna Jackson (17/05/10)
FINDINGS
The interviews have been conducted the first week of May and it was managed to collect fifty questionnaires. Of the fifty respondents fourteen never visited the institution website and consequently couldn’t complete the interview in full.
Here are the quantitative results organized in pie charts:
Have you ever been to the Tate Website?
What’s the main reason for visiting the Tate Website?
How often do you visit the Tate Web Site?
When visiting the Tate Web Site you were looking for…
Did you ever made a contribution to the Web Site?
Do you normally visit the website before a visit to the museum?
Do you normally visit the website after a visit to the gallery?
How old are you?
Of the thirty-six respondents, the 44% stated their primary reason for visiting the Tate website were related to academic/research objectives, and 55% were using it out of personal interest. The high rate of people using the website for academic purposes indicates the educational value of the contents online.
Four ‘ visitors clusters’ have been identified. These clusters, which are grouped according to individual preference for interpretation types and comfort levels with art, are:
Observers
Visitors that are only somewhat comfortable looking at art, as they have the most limited backgrounds in art and art history, and are least comfortable talking about art. They tend to prefer a guided experience at the museum, seeking straightforward explanations to help them understand what the work of art means, rather than viewing works independently.
Participants
Individuals in this cluster have stronger knowledge of and interest in art. They enjoy learning and the social aspects of their experiences. Participants have the strongest interest in connecting with works of art in a variety of ways, including through music, dance, dramatic performances, and readings. Participants enjoy the social experience of being in the galleries.
Independents
Individuals in this group like to view a work of art independently, without explanations or interpretation. These visitors are confident about their knowledge and seek intense interactions with art. Independents are often practicing artists. The group is comfortable with art terminology and with both looking at and talking about art, and is less likely to use interpretative resources during their visit.
Enthusiasts
This cluster is comprised of individuals who are confident, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and comfortable looking at all types of art. These visitors actively participate in a wide variety of museum programming, including discussions about art, and enjoy interpretive resources in the galleries. Of the four visitor clusters, members of this group are most emotionally affected by art, and are most interested in the artist materials and techniques, and in explaining the meaning of a work to the people around them. Enthusiasts frequently use the museum and are the most likely to be ‘supporters’.
The results of the interviews with Hugh Williams and Sharna Jackson were very useful to back up the literature review findings.
The former Web Developer of the website, Mr. Williams, highlighted how the collaboration with the marketing, educational and curatorial departments was essential to create the contents. Much attention is devoted to things like interactivity, interpretive context, content selection and composition, and how the user selects what material to examine. Furthermore Mr. Williams emphasized the importance of the aesthetic components of the web pages, as the color scheme.
Ms Sharna Jackson, Tate Kids editor, supported Mr. Williams’ statements. With the establishment of the ‘Tate Kids’ it was hoped to meet Tate’s mission ‘to increase public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art’ by the creation of a colorful, relevant interactive website with engaging content that would both entertain and educate the intended audience of six to 12 year olds. She outlined the graphic design process, the strategy for user testing, the importance of differentiating content, and the purpose of an adult zone
ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS
The information gathered in the literature review and the data collected through the interviews showed clearly that there are different reason for people to visit a museum’s website. The interviews results showed that the majority of people who do not consider the website as an important tool have not been through higher education programs, in fact one of the main motives for visiting a museum website is for ‘academic purposes’, as stated by Schaller at al. (2002) and as found by Ockuly in his survey conducted in 2003.
The majority of the people interviewed stated that a museum website, even the most sophisticated, will never replace a visit to the physical museum. This outcome contradict the belief of Howard Besser(1997), that said: “In this day and age, when time appears to scarce, people are less likely to make a special trip to a museum to see an original object if they can see a quite reasonable facsimile at their home workstation, especially if they can ‘play with it”. Further results of this research challenge Besser statement. The survey developed by Thomas and Carey and my current result came to very similar conclusion, online museum visitors usually visit museum Web Site before they visit the physical museum, this is because the information and artworks viewed on the screen increased their desire to visit the museum in person.
The analysis of the various clusters shows that although the ’observers’ should be the category that would benefit more of the use of a well-made museums website because it would give them the instruments to understand and interpret the artworks as well as giving them the opportunity to exchange ideas, it is indeed the category that use the websites the least. However the respondents stated that viewing the Tate museums through media familiar to them, as facebook, twitter and youtube could help to break down this still persistent idea that museums are an elitist, uncomfortable and formal spaces and ‘not for me’ feelings. In fact, Mr. Williams stressed the fact that museum use always more often networking and sharing websites to post events, performance and news to have the ‘first contact’ with the ‘observers’ in more ‘casual’ online settings.
According to the analysis of the data given during the interviews, 42% of the respondent said they visit the Tate Web Site once every few months, the 28% at least twice a month, the 25% once a year and the 5% once a week. The people that visit the Web Site more often are the younger cohort, fifteen to 35 years old, and they are students or involved in the arts in some ways. When accessing it, the online users normally have a specific purpose. The majority of the people (33%) answered they visit museum website ‘to look at a particular artist’, followed by the 25% that said they were not looking for something specific but they thought the site might be interesting to explore, the 14% responded they were looking for special events and exhibits and only the 11% responded they were looking for a particular artwork. These data are strongly in contrast with the survey result of the study of Kate Goldman on different American museum, where in the majority of the cases ‘planning a trip’ was the main reason for visiting museum websites.
The interviews’ results showed that users normally find what they are looking for on the Tate Web Site, usability is considered very important and, as explained by Pavlou and Fygenson, it is essential characteristic to enable users to acquire information.
Of the people interviewed only seven have ever made a contribution to the Web Site. When interviewed twenty-eight out of fifty stated that they would not feel comfortable in making a piece or sharing their ideas on the online interface.
Another important finding is that although most of the people would describe a museum website as ‘electronic brochures’, a ‘marketing tool’ or a ‘series of beautiful pictures’, the majority of the respondents said they learned something new when accessing it, an important result if seen alongside the previous accusations.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In summary, in this study I tried to explore some factors and behaviour related to the Tate online museum visit. The Web Site is part of the audience Development plan of the museum network and it seems to reflect perfectly the aims of the museum. The respondents of the interviews produced data to achieve the objectives stated, however the lack of relevant previous research on the specific subject did not permit a proper analysis of the findings. The Tate Web Site is well used by a great number of people with different needs, although its unquestioned quality issues around interactivity and communication with the public aroused.
Certainly, this study suffered from limitations such as the low response rate. It would be desirable to replicate this study or do a study under slightly different conditions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Lin, A.C.H., and Gregor, S. "Designing Websites for Learning and Enjoyment: A Study of Museum Experiences," International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning(7:3) 2006, pp 1-21.
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