Table 1
Information about the participants, concerning age, migration background, frequency of museum visits and use of audio guides. Note that not all participants answered the question about migration background (total is 26).
| Number | % | Number | % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | <15 | 1 | 2.5 | Museum visits | Never/rarely | 0 | 0 |
| 15–24 | 4 | 10 | 2–4 times a year | 1 | 2.5 | ||
| 25–34 | 13 | 32.5 | 5–10 times a year | 15 | 37.5 | ||
| 35–44 | 1 | 2.5 | Once a month | 11 | 27.5 | ||
| 45–54 | 9 | 22.5 | More than once a month | 13 | 32.5 | ||
| 55–64 | 6 | 15 | Using audio guides | Have never used one | 1 | 2.5 | |
| 65–74 | 6 | 15 | Rarely | 26 | 65 | ||
| ≥75 | 0 | 0 | Often | 10 | 25 | ||
| Migration background | Yes | 7 | 26.9 | Whenever possible | 3 | 7.5 | |
| No | 19 | 73.1 |
Table 2
An overview of the averages of answers to the closed questions asked for each artwork for each audio guide (ST = standard tour, At = alternative tour), plus number of answers and standard deviation. Categories of answers: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neutral, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree.
| Van Bennekom | Jungerman | Van Manen | Gaisumov | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST | AT | ST | AT | ST | AT | ST | AT | ||
| 1. | Allows me to emotionally connect to the represented narrative | n. 32 | n. 29 | n. 32 | n. 28 | n. 33 | n. 29 | n. 32 | n. |
| av. 3.8 | av. 4.0 | av. 3.9 | av. 4.3 | av. 3.6 | av. 4.0 | av. 2.9 | av. 4.3 | ||
| d. 1.0 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.0 | d. 0.7 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.8 | d. 1.0 | d. 0.8 | ||
| 2. | Is a good addition to the work | n. 32 | n. 29 | n. 32 | n. 28 | n. 33 | n. 29 | n. 32 | n. 28 |
| av. 3.6 | av. 3.7 | av. 4.2 | av. 4.3 | av. 3.8 | av. 3.9 | av. 3.8 | av. 4.4 | ||
| d. 1.1 | d. 1.0 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.7 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.9 | ||
| 3. | Elicits emotions in me | n. 25 | n. 23 | n. 29 | n. 24 | n. 28 | n. 25 | n. 30 | n. 23 |
| av. 2.7 | av. 3.0 | av. 3.1 | av. 3.1 | av. 2.9 | av. 2.9 | av. 2.9 | av. 3.7 | ||
| d. 1.2 | d. 1.1 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.0 | d. 0.8 | d. 0.9 | d. 1.2 | d. 1.0 | ||
| 4. | Calls up personal memories | n. 25 | n. 23 | n. 26 | n. 23 | n. 27 | n. 21 | n. 25 | n. 22 |
| av. 2.3 | av. 3.0 | av. 2.7 | av. 2.7 | av. 2.7 | av. 2.9 | av. 2.3 | av. 2.6 | ||
| d. 1.1 | d. 1.3 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.1 | d. 1 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.1 | d. 1.3 | ||
| 5. | Overshadows the work | n. 31 | n. 27 | n. 29 | n. 26 | n. 32 | n. 29 | n. 32 | n. 28 |
| av. 2.5 | av. 2.7 | av. 2.1 | av. 2.3 | av. 2.4 | av. 2.7 | av. 2.5 | av. 2.2 | ||
| d. 1.1 | d. 1.2 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.1 | d. 1.1 | d. 1.0 | d. 1.1 | d. 1.0 | ||
Table 3
Summaries of participants’ responses to a selection of the most relevant open questions from the survey (translated from Dutch). For an overview of all questions see the appendix.
| Artwork | Question | Summary of participants’ responses |
|---|---|---|
| Van Bennekom | Which of the two guides makes it easier to emotionally connect to the memory of Surinamese migration? Why (consider form of the fragment, chosen speakers, ambient sounds)? | 10 participants preferred the standard tour, 15 the alternative tour. The standard tour provides more factual information, whereas the alternative tour is more emotive, but can sometimes feel disruptive and distracting as a result. Both tours are referred to as authentic, due to their factual and emotive nature, respectively. |
| In the alternative tour the news fragment is authentic, but the interview is staged by actors. Does this change your experience of the guide and if so, how? | For 13 participants this information did not change their experience, for some because they had already assumed it was staged while doing the tour, for others because they did not mind. For 12 participants it did matter, mostly because authenticity was seen as essential in the context of the museum. | |
| Jungerman | A wall text, like the one behind you [in the exhibition space], can offer the necessary information to understand a work. Does the spoken text of the audio guides add to this and if so, how? | Varied responses:
|
| Van Manen | In both audio guides you hear an interview with a woman who is not shown in the photographs, but does represent the portrayed group of Turkish migrants. When listening to the audio, do you feel more connected to her or to the women in the photographs? | About half the participants feel more connected to the woman in the audio guides; for some this is positive and it strengthens the impact of the photographs, for others it is distracting and reduces the photographs from artworks to illustrating snapshots. About half feel more connected to the women in the photographs; to some the audio distracts and manipulates the participants’ own interpretation, to others the audio nicely complements and contextualises the work. About half the participants focus on the photographs as main object, accompanied by the audio guides, while for the other half the spoken narrative of the audio guides seems to become foregrounded. |
| Gaisumov | This is the only video work in the series. What effect does this have on your experience of the audio guides and the interaction between the audio guides and the work? | Most participants think both audio guides complement the work very well, especially since video and audio usually go together and tend to form a whole. For a few it is hard to concentrate on both at the same time and the audio is distracting, but to others the simultaneous experience feels more natural and emotive. |