Hong Kong Museum of History Permanent Exhibition Visitor Survey 2016
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Hong Kong Museum of History Permanent Exhibition Visitor Survey 2016 Submitted to the Hong Kong Museum of History Actrium Solutions (HK) Limited 7 March 2016 1 Contents Executive summary 3 Research background 6 Research objectives 6 Areas of investigation 6 Methodology 6 Key findings 8 1) Views on the appropriateness of galleries for inclusion in the new permanent exhibition 2) Views on the contents of the new permanent exhibition 3) Views on the presentation methods used in the new permanent exhibition 4) Views on the interactive elements in the new permanent exhibition 5) Profile of respondents Conclusion 29 Appendix 1 : Questionnaire Appendix 2 : Calculation of response rate 2 Executive summary Research objectives The Hong Kong Museum of History is currently conducting work in preparation for a full- scale renovation of the permanent exhibition. To obtain the valuable opinion of visitors as a source of reference for the preparatory work, the museum carried out a survey, lasting a full month, with the objective of: understanding the views of visitors on the permanent exhibition and their expectations of it; and establishing the demographic profile of visitors. Research methods The Hong Kong Museum of History appointed an independent research organisation, Actrium Solutions, to perform the research. Face-to-face interviews based on a questionnaire were conducted in January 2016, with the research adopting a quantitative survey method targeting visitors over 8 years of age. In total, 1,412 target respondents were surveyed, and a response rate of 80% was achieved. During the same period, the museum collected 226 completed questionnaires by e-mail, fax and post, thus producing in a total of 1,638 completed questionnaires. Key findings 1. Views on the appropriateness of galleries for inclusion in the new permanent exhibition 1.1 Respondents were invited to rate the degree to which each existing gallery is appropriate for inclusion in the new permanent exhibition. The results indicate that respondents feel Gallery 6 (Birth and early growth of the city) is most appropriate for retention. In contrast, Galleries 1 and 2 (The natural environment and Prehistoric Hong Kong) are thought to be the most inappropriate. 2. Views on the contents of the new permanent exhibition 2.1 In total, 77.8% of respondents think that the development of Hong Kong after the handover to China in 1997 should be included in the new permanent exhibition, with 87.8% of overseas visitors, 82.8% of mainland visitors and 70.3% of local visitors holding this view. In terms of age groups, this view is supported most by 20 to 39 year olds (80.5%). 2.2 77.2% of respondents believe that, in addition to the permanent section, the new exhibition should also include a thematic section that changes on a regular basis. Only 12.0% of respondents disagree with this opinion, while 10.8% have no comment. 81.2% of local visitors agree with the idea of adding a thematic section that changes on a regular basis. 2.3 The thematic topics that would interest respondents the most include: The 18 districts in Hong Kong (52.2%); Hong Kong and overseas Chinese (41.2%); ethnic 3 minorities in Hong Kong (e.g. Jews) (39.5%); and Hong Kong and the Maritime Silk Route (39.3%). 2.4 A majority of respondents (78.3%) are of the opinion that the new permanent exhibition should retain the themes related to popular culture, while 72.3% respondents support the idea of retaining military history themes and a smaller proportion (53.5%) believe that natural history themes should be retained. 2.5 Respondents offered suggestions on themes that could be added to or enhanced in the new permanent exhibition. The most popular themes here include Hong Kong culture and local customs (especially art and media, food culture and ethnicity/religion/tradition/social customs), the history of Hong Kong (especially its recent history from the handover to the present) and the overall development of Hong Kong from multiple perspectives, especially in terms of its economic, political and housing development. 3. Views on the presentation methods used in the new permanent exhibition 3.1 Generally speaking, respondents are very fond of the 1:1 scale dioramas. With regard to these dioramas, 69.7% like the ‘street scenes in different eras’ and 57.1% like the ‘Boat dwellers’ fishing junk’, while the ‘Taiping Qingjiao ceremony in Cheung Chau’ and the ‘Ancestral hall’ are liked by 49.8% and 40.7% of respondents respectively. The ‘Beach showing life during the Neolithic period’ (14.1%), the ‘Exhibition of Hong Kong Products’ (15.9%), the ‘Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb’ (17.7%), the ‘Natural environment’ (17.7%) and the ‘Hoklo people’s salt field’ (18.3%) are less popular dioramas. These findings are quite consistent across visitors from different origins and age groups. 3.2 61.8% of respondents agree that there should be more multimedia installations in the new permanent exhibition, while 32.1% disagree and 6.1% have no comment. The highest proportion in favour of more multimedia installations is represented by mainland visitors (74.1%), while the proportion of local and overseas visitors who support this view is 62.0% and 55.6% respectively. Only 57.4% of the 8-19 age group are in favour of more multimedia installations, the least proportion among all the age groups. 4 Views on the interactive elements in the new permanent exhibition 4.1 Respondents are interested in a variety of interactive elements, such as interactive games, guided tours, theatre, films and mobile phone apps, which would be welcomed by more than 30% of respondents. Interactive learning is a less popular concept (26.1%). Visitors from different places and from different age groups have their own favourite interactive elements. The 8-39 age group prefers interactive games, while the over 40 age group likes interactive guided tours and films. 4 Interactive elements suggested by respondents include ‘touchable exhibits’, ‘workshops’ and ‘family activities’. 5. Profile of respondents 5.1 The sample size of the survey is 1,638. The male-to-female ratio is generally balanced. Of the respondents, over half are local visitors, over 30% are from overseas and the remaining 15.6% are from mainland China. Close to 80% of respondents have attended tertiary education or higher. Respondents come from a wide variety of occupations: 25.3% are full-time students, close to 40% are professionals and approximately 10% are clerical workers. The majority of respondents (about 70%) visit the museum less than once a year, but there are also frequent visitors (15.0%) who come several times a year. 5 Research background In conjunction with the large public ‘Appreciate Hong Kong’ campaign, admission to the Hong Kong Museum of History was free of charge throughout the month of January 2016. With the museum currently preparing a full-scale renovation of the permanent exhibition, the period of free admission was used to conduct a questionnaire survey to collect opinions from visitors, which can then be used as an important reference for the preparatory work. Research objectives The objectives of the survey are to: 1. Understand the views of visitors on and their expectations of: 1) themes of the galleries 2) presentation methods 3) interaction with the visitors; 2. Establish the demographic profile of visitors. Areas of investigation 1. Frequency of visits to the existing permanent exhibition 2. Views on the appropriateness of galleries for inclusion in the new permanent exhibition 3. Views on whether the development of Hong Kong after the handover in 1997 should be included in the new permanent exhibition 4. Views on the contents and presentation methods of the new permanent exhibition 5. Views on a thematic section that changes on a regular basis 6. Thematic topics that interest visitors 7. Other opinions 8. Visitor profile Methodology Face-to-face interviews The research adopted a quantitative survey method.1 Interviewers conducted face-to-face interviews with visitors to the Hong Kong Museum of History using a pre-approved structured questionnaire. 1 Quantitative research is the systematic investigation of phenomena using statistical and mathematical techniques. This method requires a larger sample size, and the results are shown by frequency (%) or mean. 6 Target respondents 1. Aged 8 or above 2. Visitors to the Hong Kong Museum of History during the survey period 3. People who can speak Cantonese, Putonghua or English. Sampling method and sample size The face-to-face interview adopted a random sampling2 method to avoid selection bias and ensure a representative sample of the visitors to the Hong Kong Museum of History. In total, 1,412 target respondents were surveyed. The sampling error at a 95% confidence interval is +2.61%. A sampling error below + 5% is generally acceptable for quantitative surveys. Data collection method The survey period covered the whole month of January (except 5, 12, 19 and 26 January when the museum was closed). Interviewers were deployed at the exit of the permanent exhibition on Level 1. They sampled the respondents based on the pre-designed sampling method to conduct face-to-face interviews. In total, 1,412 target respondents were surveyed on-site with a response rate of 80% (please refer to Appendix 2 for the detailed calculation of the response rate). In the same period, the museum collected 226 completed questionnaires through various means, including e-mail, fax and post, resulting in a total of 1,638 completed questionnaires. Notes to readers 1. Generally speaking, the total percentage for single-answer questions should add up to 100%. However, this may not always be the case as a result of rounding. 2. The total percentage for multiple-answer questions will not add up to 100%.