How Did That Interactive Make You Feel? Towards a framework for evaluating the emotional and sensory experience of next generation in-gallery technology. Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Jingyu Peng School of Museum Studies University of Leicester November 2019 How Did That Interactive Make You Feel? Towards a framework for evaluating the emotional and sensory experience of next generation in-gallery technology by Jingyu Peng Abstract This thesis explores a different way of researching and analysing in-gallery digital media. It attempts to understand how visitors feel sensorily and emotionally during the experience of interacting with in-gallery digital media, and to provide the basis of a workable framework to measure these experiences. The work is inspired by both the ‘sensory turn’ in museum studies (that has aimed to uncover a comprehensive understanding of these feelings and sensory engagement), and the arrival of new emerging formats of in-gallery digital technology (that are more likely to involve multi- sensory, highly immersive and shared experience). The thesis investigates how to measure visitors’ experience with in-gallery technologies from a brand-new perspective, beyond the traditional models of usability and learning – and into, instead, emotion and sensation. The research was conducted at the National Space Centre, Leicester (UK), testing the effectiveness of traditional tools in visitor studies and exploring the appropriateness of new evaluative methods. A series of methods were tested in three evaluative design cycles, each including a combination of interviews, questionnaires, ‘think-aloud’ methods and physiological measurement. Based on the results of measuring sensation and emotion within three different settings within the case study museum (each representing a different format of digital technology), the thesis not only offers a practical guide to museums, but proposes six core principles on approaching this new framework for evaluative design: differentiate; expand; combine; extend; contextualise; and scale. The findings of the research are intended to highlight the importance of adopting a time-based, non-verbal and non-filtered understanding and measurement of experience. Ultimately, however, the thesis identifies not only the importance of understanding in sensory and emotional terms the impact of digitally created environments on visitor experience, but also the value of using a new set of theoretical informants and theoretical foundations for digital heritage and museum studies research. i Acknowledgements This thesis was made possible through the support and guidance of many people, and I am very grateful to each of them. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Professor Ross Parry for his insightful guidance and tremendous encouragement at every stage of the journey. I would also like to thank my second supervisor, Dr Giasemi Vavoula for her helpful advice and suggestions. The research would not have been possible without the support and help of the National Space Centre in Leicester. I am extremely appreciative of the support from Kevin Yates, Gareth Dennis, Gareth Howell, Dan Kendall and the Space Crew. I would also like to thank all visitors who participated in this study, and offered their time and shared their thoughts about their museum visit. I would especially like to thank Professor Effie Law at the Department of Informatics for her key insights and suggestions for further reading, which greatly enhanced my understanding of user experience methodology. I also wish to thank my colleagues and staff members at the School of Museum Studies, especially Dr Sheila Watson and Dr Ceri Jones for sharing their expertise; Yahao Wang, Amornchat Sermcheep, Dr Yon Jai Kim and Sumi Kim for their encouragement, and special thanks to Christine Cheesman and Bob Ahluwalia for their help. Without them, this research would not have been possible. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr Amy Hetherington for proofreading the whole thesis; Minjie Gao, Cesare Cuzzola and Jenni Hunt for their comments; and Zhongnan Qian, Dr Zhiyong Li and Dr Fulong Li for their valuable advice. Finally, I would like to thank my dearest parents, Renjie and Yan, for their love and care throughout the completion of this journey, and unfailingly support both in the good and bad times. This thesis is dedicated to you. ii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Question .......................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Research Context ........................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Theoretical Approach ..................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Methodological Approach .............................................................................................. 9 1.5 Thesis Structure............................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 2 Sensations and Emotions in Museums ................................................... 15 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 15 2.2 The Senses and Sensory Turn ....................................................................................... 16 2.3 Emotions in Museum Experience ................................................................................. 28 2.4 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3 Characteristics of a New Generation of Museum Interactives.............. 36 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 36 3.2 New Technology in Museums ...................................................................................... 39 3.3 Trends of In-Gallery Interactives .................................................................................. 49 3.4 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 4 Evaluating Museum Technology and Evaluation Methods ................... 62 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 62 4.2 Perspectives of Evaluating Museum Technology .......................................................... 63 4.3 Evaluation Methods ...................................................................................................... 66 4.4 Evaluating Sensory and Emotional Experience ............................................................. 70 4.5 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 5 Pilot Study and Evaluative Design Cycle One ....................................... 75 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 75 5.2 Introducing the National Space Centre and the Three In-Gallery Interactives ................ 76 5.3 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................... 81 5.4 Requirements of Methodology ...................................................................................... 86 5.5 Research Design ........................................................................................................... 87 5.6 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 96 5.7 Ethics ......................................................................................................................... 100 5.8 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 102 5.9 Limitations of Cycle 1 Evaluation Tools ..................................................................... 124 iii Chapter 6 Evaluative Design Cycle Two ............................................................... 128 6.1 Lessons Learned from Cycle One ............................................................................... 128 6.2 Designing Evaluative Tools ........................................................................................ 134 6.3 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................. 142 6.4 Limitations of Cycle 2 ................................................................................................ 166 Chapter 7 Evaluative Design Cycle Three ............................................................. 169 7.1 Lessons Learned from Cycle 2 .................................................................................... 169 7.2 Introducing Physiological Measurement ..................................................................... 170 7.3 Requirements for Conducting Physiological Measures in Museum Settings ................ 176 7.4 Measuring Skin Conductance ..................................................................................... 179