Measuring Visitors' Experiences with Mobile Guide Technology in Cultural
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MEASURING VISITORS’ EXPERIENCES WITH MOBILE GUIDE TECHNOLOGY IN CULTURAL SPACES MOHD KAMAL OTHMAN A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of York Computer Science Department [Sept 2012] 0 Abstract __________________________________________________ The use of mobile technologies such as multimedia guides has now become very common in cultural spaces such as museums. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how visitors interact with such devices and simultaneously with the exhibits. Generally, research has investigated different types of informal learning within cultural spaces, both with and without mobile technologies, particularly the use of free-choice and guided tours. The programme of research presented developed a scale to measure visitors’ experience in museums (the Museum Experience Scale, MES), a parallel scale to measure visitors’ experience in historic churches (the Church Experience Scale, CES) and a scale to measure visitors’ experience with audio and multimedia guides in cultural spaces (the Multimedia Guide Scale, MMGS). Study 1 established the appropriate methodology for the subsequent studies. A virtual museum was developed with two types of tour: Free Choice (FC) and Guided Tour (GT). Participants undertook a tour and answered a questionnaire about their experience. The study did not elicit any significant differences in visitor experience in the two different tour designs, but paved the way for the subsequent studies. Study 2 developed the MES and the MMGS using standard psychometric principles based on 255 responses to an online questionnaire. Respondents answered questions about a recent experience of visiting a cultural space, with or without a multimedia guide. Four components were identified for the MES: Engagement, Knowledge/Learning, Meaningful Experiences, and Emotional Connection while three components were identified for the MMGS: General Usability, Learnability and Control, and Quality of Interaction. Study 3 piloted the methodology for evaluating the use of multimedia guides in cultural spaces. Sixteen participants used a multimedia guide on an iPhone to view an exhibition set up in the laboratory and then completed the MMGS. This study successfully established the methodology and showed a significant effect of different types of guides (FC and GT) on the four MES factors. Study 4 developed the CES by asking 272 visitors at three historic churches in York to respond to questions immediately after their visit. The resulting scale has 5 components: Emotional Connection and Spiritual Experiences; Knowledge and Learning; Enjoyment, Intellectual Stimulation and Curiosity; Immersion; and Information overload. In a final study, the CES and MMGS were used to measure visitors’ experience at a historic church, Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. 59 visitors in total participated, 40 using an iPhone multimedia guide (21 FC and 19 GT) and a control group (CG) of 19 visitors without a guide. The findings showed a number of differences between the three groups on the CES and the MMGS. The results showed that introducing a smartphone guide in a historic church has interesting effects, both positive and possibly negative on visitor experience, particularly on the following aspects: time spent in the church; amount of knowledge gained; engagement with the church as well as with the smartphone guide; emotional and spiritual experience; and enjoyment and intellectual stimulation. In conclusion, three scales were developed were used to measure different aspect of visitors’ experience and were used in the realistic setting of a historic church. These scales make a contribution to the empirical evaluation of visitor experience of cultural spaces in general (with two different scales developed, one for museums and one for historic churches) and the use of audio and multimedia guides in cultural spaces. 1 Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 Contents…………………………………………………………………………………. 2 List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………… 8 List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………. 11 Acknowledgement………………………………………………………………………. 12 Declaration……………………………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter 1: Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 14 1.1 Mobile guides: terminology and definitions ……………………………………….. 16 1.2 Motivation and rationale………………………………………………………….... 19 1.3 Research questions………………………………………………………………… 21 1.4 Thesis overview……………………………………………………………………. 21 Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………………. 25 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………................ 25 2.2 Use of mobile guides in cultural spaces……………………………………................ 27 2.2.1 Mobile guides: historical background of the use of technologies for visitors in cultural spaces………………………………………………… 27 2.2.2 Mobile guides: bringing families and friends together…………………… 35 2.2.3 Mobile guides: support natural interaction………………………………. 47 2.2.4 Mobile guides: personalizing tours for different visitors…………………. 52 2.2.5 Mobile guides: technology for all………………………………………… 58 2.2.6 Mobile guides: fun and entertaining……………………………………… 61 2.2.7 Mobile guides: support mobile learning………………………………….. 63 2.3 Technologies in religious spaces……………………………………………………. 63 2.3.1 Church and technologies…………………………………………………. 64 2.4 User Experience (UX)…………………………………………………………….... 65 2.4.1 Technologies for visitors’ experience in cultural spaces………………………. 67 2.4.1.1 Mobile guides: support mobile learning experiences…………………… 71 2.4.2 Measuring visitors’ experiences in cultural spaces……………………………. 82 2.5 Learning in museums and other cultural spaces……………………………………. 86 2.5.1 The Contextual Model of Learning and Free-Choice Learning in Museums………………………………………………………………….... 90 2.5.2 Learning Theory and Museums…………………………………................... 92 2 2.5.3 Constructivist Learning Theory and Museums…………………………... 93 2.6 Methodologies in user experience research….…………………………………….. 94 2.7 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… 96 Chapter 3: Study 1- Virtual museums: free-choice tour (FC) vs guided tour (GT)...……… 97 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 97 3.2 Objectives……………………………………………………………………………. 98 3.3 Method………………………………………………………………………………. 98 3.3.1 Participants ………………………………………………………………… 98 3.3.2 Design ……………………………………………………………………... 98 3.3.3 Virtual Museum …………………………………………………………… 99 3.3.4 Questionnaire ……………………………………………………………… 101 3.3.5 Procedure ………………………………………………………….............. 102 3.4 Results ……………………………………………………………………………… 103 3.4.1 The descriptive features of the sample……………………………………… 103 3.4.2 Relationships between questions about virtual museum experiences (close- ended questions) …………………………………………………………… 103 3.4.3 Reliability of individual questions …………………………………………... 106 3.4.4 Differences between GT and FC virtual museums ………………………… 107 3.4.5 In-depth analysis of open-ended questions ……………………....................... 109 3.5 Discussion ………………………………………………………………………….. 113 3.6 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………….............. 117 Chapter 4: Study 2- Measuring visitors’ experiences in museums: the development of the Museum Experience Scale (MES) and the Multimedia Guide Scale (MMGS)…………… 118 4.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………... 118 4.2 Objectives ………………………………………………………………………….. 119 4.3 Method ……………………………………………………………………….. 119 4.3.1 Respondents ………………………………………………………………. 119 4.3.2 Design ……………………………………………………………………... 120 4.3.3 Statements… ……………………………………………………………… 120 4.3.4 Procedure …………………………………………………………………. 121 4.4 Results ……………………………………………………………………………… 121 4.4.1 Reliability analysis …………………………………………………................ 121 3 4.4.2 Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ……………………………………… 122 4.4.3 Museum Experience Scale (MES) …………………………………............... 123 4.4.4 Multimedia Guide Scale (MMGS) …………………………………............... 125 4.4.5 Initial use of the CES and MMGS………………………………………… 127 4.5 Discussion………………………………………………………………………….. 128 4.5.1 Museum Experience Scale (MES) ………………………………….............. 129 4.5.1.1 Engagement ………………………………………………………… 129 4.5.1.2 Knowledge and Learning …………………………………………… 129 4.5.1.3 Meaningful Experiences …………………………………………….. 130 4.5.1.4 Emotional Connection ……………………………………………… 130 4.5.2 Multimedia Guide Scale (MMGS) …………………………………………. 131 4.5.2.1 General Usability …………………………………………………… 131 4.5.2.2 Learnability and Control …………………………………………… 131 4.5.2.3 Quality of Interaction with the Guide ………………………………. 131 4.6 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… 132 Chapter 5: Study 3- Mobile guides in cultural spaces: measuring visitors’ experiences using an iPhone web-app ……………………………………………………………….. 133 5.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………… 133 5.2 Objectives …………………………………………………………………................ 134 5.3 Method…….……………………………………………………………………….. 134 5.3.1 Participants ………………………………………………………………... 134 5.3.2 Design …………………………………………………………………….. 135 5.3.2.1 Heuristic Evaluation ………………………………………………… 135 5.3.3 iPhone Web-app …………………………………………………………… 136 5.3.3.1 Web-app development: FC vs GT……………………..……………. 136 5.3.4 Research Instruments ………………………………………………………. 142 5.3.4.1 Multimedia Guide Scale (MMGS) …………………………………… 142 5.3.4.2 Procedure …………………………………………………………… 142 5.4 Results ………………………………………………………………………………. 144 5.4.1 The descriptive features of the sample..……………………………………. 144 5.4.2 Correlations between the three components of the MMGS ……………….. 144 5.4.3 Post-Hoc Analysis …………………………………………………………. 145 5.5 Discussion …………………………………………………………………............... 146 4 5.5.1 Quality