Qualitative Research Conducted in Europe's National Museums
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Voices from the Museum: Qualitative Research Conducted in Europe’s National Museums Jocelyn Dodd, Ceri Jones, Andy Sawyer & Maria-Anna Tseliou EuNaMus Report No 6 Voices from the Museum: Qualitative Research Conducted in Europe’s National Museums (EuNaMus Report No 6) Jocelyn Dodd, Ceri Jones, Andy Sawyer & Maria-Anna Tseliou Copyright The publishers will keep this document online on the Internet – or its possible replacement – from the date of publication barring exceptional circumstances. The online availability of the document implies permanent permission for anyone to read, to download, or to print out single copies for his/her own use and to use it unchanged for noncommercial research and educational purposes. Subsequent transfers of copyright cannot revoke this permission. All other uses of the document are conditional upon the consent of the copyright owner. The publisher has taken technical and administrative measures to assure authenticity, security and accessibility. According to intellectual property law, the author has the right to be mentioned when his/her work is accessed as described above and to be protected against infringement. For additional information about Linköping University Electronic Press and its procedures for publication and for assurance of document integrity, please refer to its www home page: http://www.ep.liu.se/. Linköping University Interdisciplinary Studies, No. 17 Linköping University Electronic Press Linköping, Sweden, 2012 Report series ISSN: 1650-9625 URL: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-85228 Copyright © The Authors, 2012 This report has been published thanks to the support of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research - Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities theme (contract nr 244305 – Project European National Museums: Identity Politics, the Uses of the Past and the European Citizen). The information and views set out in this report are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Cover photo: National Museums of Scotland. Acknowledgements We are very grateful to the museum visitors who took part in interviews, individuals who took part in the focus groups, and to the researchers involved in collecting, analysing and writing up the qualitative data for each of the six national museums. University of the Aegean, Department of Cultural and Technology and Communication, Greece Alexandra Bounia Alexandra Nikiforidou Niki Nikonanou Aggeliki Zoumpouli Evi-Maria Pitsiava Maroussa Tsakogianni University of Tartu and the Estonian National Museum, Estonia Pille Runnel Pille Pruulmann-Vengerfeldt Ergo-Hart Västrik Paavo Kroon Agnes Aljas Laura Jamsja Taavi Tatsi Anita Püsiäinen Anna-Stina Kangro Kaspar Jassa Research Centre for Museums and Galleries (RCMG), School of Museum Studies, University of Leicester, UK Jocelyn Dodd Ceri Jones Andy Sawyer Maria- Anna Tseliou University of Tartu and the Latvian Open-Air Museum, Latvia Linda Lotiņa Toms Ķencis Table of contents Notes on authors .............................................................................................................................. 9 Conclusions: Museum Citizens, Qualitative Research ................................................................... 11 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 11 Images of nation and Europe: what shaped visitor responses? ...................................................... 12 Visitors and their personal frames of reference ............................................................................................13 The ‘type’ of national museum.........................................................................................................................14 Key findings: Museum Citizens, Qualitative Research ................................................................. 17 National museums’ role in shaping national identity ........................................................................ 17 The role of the national museum: identity and history ..................................................................... 18 Objects and narratives: what was significant to visitors? ................................................................. 19 What is missing? ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Ideas of Europe ...................................................................................................................................... 20 Representation of Europe in the national museum ......................................................................................22 The experience of minority groups and the national museum ........................................................ 23 A Call for Action ............................................................................................................................. 25 Evolving national and European identity ........................................................................................... 26 The inclusive national museum ............................................................................................................ 26 Can national museums shape visitors’ thinking about the nation and Europe? ........................... 27 Dialogue for shared and mutual understanding ................................................................................ 27 Chapter 1 – Introduction to the research study .............................................................................. 29 The centrality of the visitor voice: new and innovative research into European national museums .................................................................................................................................................. 31 The layout of this report ....................................................................................................................... 32 The research process ............................................................................................................................. 33 The research questions and objectives ............................................................................................................33 A qualitative research design ............................................................................................................................35 Choosing the case study sites ...........................................................................................................................35 Research methods ..............................................................................................................................................36 Ethical issues and procedures ..........................................................................................................................38 Analysis and interpretation ...............................................................................................................................39 Chapter 2 – Context for the Data Collection .................................................................................. 41 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 42 National context: the six case study nations ...................................................................................... 42 Estonia and Latvia: post-Soviet nations .........................................................................................................42 Germany: at the centre of Europe ...................................................................................................................43 Greece: where East meets West .......................................................................................................................44 Ireland and Scotland: island nations on the edge of Europe ......................................................................44 Historical context of European national museums: from colonialism and conflict to co- operation .................................................................................................................................................. 46 Six national museums: an overview of participant characteristics .................................................. 49 Visitor characteristics: national and non-national visitors ...........................................................................50 Visitor characteristics: age and gender ............................................................................................................51 Visitor characteristics: education and employment ......................................................................................52 Visitor characteristics: Minority group participants ......................................................................................54 Six national museums: detailed descriptions ...................................................................................... 55 The Estonian National Museum ......................................................................................................................56 Latvian Open Air Museum ...............................................................................................................................60 Deutsches