Throughout my time at the University of Oklahoma, one of my favorite classes was my public relations research class. I learned the importance of compiling secondary research for clients as well as finding and gathering data from primary research. My favorite aspect from the class was learning about in-depth interviews. I was given the opportunity to host an interview through my research class for the Stafford Air & Space Museum located in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Our objective was to interview our target audience of mothers with young kids to gather information from their personal experiences that would give the museum data to further their goals of increased attendance and awareness. My team of six each hosted and interview, and used each interview to create a list of common themes that were consistent within each interview. I hosted my interview over Zoom on October 11, 2020 and I enjoyed asking open-ended questions and getting to dive into the mind of a mother with two kids, and I was able to record really good ideas for the museum from her personal experiences.
Below, you will see a report of my team's completed interviews and findings that I had the opportunity to format and write. I utilized my writing and editing skills, and got to try my hand at condensing six hour-long interviews into five themes for the museum. This report really changed me to pay attention to details and work on my brevity.
I loved getting to work with people one-on-one and getting to know them on a personal level. I learned that different perspectives can bring about new ideas, and that it is important to let the interview flow with the conversation instead of just sticking to pre-written questions. I ended up gaining good insight on how to increase attendance for the museum by listening to the personal experiences my interviewee shared that I would've never covered with my questions.
Please take a look below and enjoy!
In-depth Interview Research
Overview
Through secondary research, it was found that the Stafford Air & Space Museum is not reaching its key publics, one of those publics being mothers with children between the ages of five and fifteen years old. The secondary research provided information on which internal and external forces have benefited the museum, and especially which have limited the museum’s potential growth. Some of these specific obstacles include the distance of the museum from populated areas, the unawareness publics have of the museum and the way the museum has allocated its budget to market to their target audience. Through in-depth interviews, the goal is for the museum to answer a few research questions. Some of the research question topics include what this target age audience looks for in choosing places to take their kids and how they are aware of such activities. The museum strives to learn specific ways that moms with children between five and 15 years old would be best reached and what would make their museum experience, once they attend, the best it could possibly be.
Summarized Topics and General Questions
The topics explored centered around what the average “fun” day looks like for mothers with kids between the ages of five and 15. Topics such as memorable family experiences and vacations were discussed in order to gauge what families are looking for during their free time. When asking about these family events, further discussion about the deciding factors was also held. Factors such as prices, local area, outcomes from the experiences, and more painted a better picture of how mothers and their families decide what they want to do. Additionally, questions such as thoughts on museums, past experiences in museums, and outcomes from attending museums were asked. This was to create a better understanding of families’ motivations in general as well as how they relate to museums. Overall, the goal was to discover what types of activities mothers and their families look for for their children, what factors help them decide on what to do, and more specifically, what they look for in a museum experience for their children.
Data Collection Method
In-depth interviews are particularly effective for this topic because the participants are able to discuss why they go to certain locations and what factors are important to them when planning a day or weekend trip. This type of research allows the participant to answer questions in detail, rather than answer yes or no questions on a survey. This provides the client with a significant amount of information so they can meet their goals effectively. As the interviewer, when the purpose of the study is kept in mind the interviewee is able to open up and provide meaningful information. In Krueger & Casey Chapter 6, the authors state, “the purpose will guide the direction, depth, and intensity of the analysis.” The purpose of this study was to get as much information from the target audience as possible, so the in-depth interview was the best way to get this information.
The first step of the planning process for the in-depth interviews was finding the target audience, which was determined to be mothers with children ages five to fifteen. Next, interview questions were discussed, created and finalized for the multiple interviews. After narrowing down a target audience to focus on, interviews were scheduled and conducted to find out more information about visiting the museum. In total each group member interviewed one person with a total of 6 interviews. The interviews took about a week and a half as they were conducted between October 8th through the 19th. The interviewees were provided with a consent form that was signed before the interview and a semi-structured interview guide made. Prior to going into the interview, they were asked about Stafford Air and Space Museum and if they knew what it was. If they did not, they were provided with a brief summary of the museum and its purpose.
Findings
Distractions for Kids
For one interviewee, the most important factor in choosing an activity is the level of distraction it provides for her children. “Any kind of thing that we can keep the kids engaged with for a long time is good...like [for them] to have something to focus on.” She mentioned exhibits that are interactive and allow for her children to take their time and just “be a kid sometimes.” “We like the distractions too, like, we want to have fun with them too.” Along with distractions, some interviewees indicated an interest in activities that will also provide some levels of education. “Yeah I think like a mixture of learning...especially with the kids getting old enough to start understanding some stuff more. Like, if we’re at a museum, I think we want them distracted, but they should learn something in there.” Distractions are important factors, but educational opportunities are also often considered. Another participant argues that excitement is one of the most important takeaways for her kids, saying,
“Excitement doesn't have to be going down a 20-foot slide. I just think awe and wonder can bring out a lot of excitement in kiddos and even in my kiddos. Did we have fun? And was I having fun with them? . . . I think it's really neat to be able to introduce them to a lot of just unique situations that are not always the same.”
Surrounding Area
One of the biggest themes found is the desire for the nearby area to also have activities to do. One participant noted her desire for “some good places to eat and to recharge the kids after a while.” As part of their planning process, they will consider what they want “out of the day,” with restaurants and food options “always being a thing we look at.” Other respondents also mentioned that being located “in a good area” is a big factor in deciding where to take the kids. Many responses indicated an interest in food options as well as a safe, kid-friendly environment. Additionally, parking is an important factor to consider if it is a particularly busy location. One interviewee mentioned “We sometimes look at parking...you know, it’s always annoying if it’s impossible to get back to the car.”
Word of Mouth Recommendations
Through in-depth interviews, the value of a word of mouth recommendation to potential museum visitors was evident. Multiple interview participants expressed they typically trust a suggestion on where to go for a family outing when it comes from a friend. One mother who was interviewed said, “I feel like for us to go actually plan a trip to any museum, I think that would come from hearing from another family or another friend that they had an awesome experience.” She felt a recommendation from a friend was much more credible than searching something out herself. “I don’t know that me, myself personally, will sit down and research museums. So I think that word of mouth, reviews, personal experience, those are going to weigh on my decision heavily to plan a trip around a museum or to a museum,” she said. Another mother interviewed shared the same opinion, and added that they would also feel inclined to visit if someone they know posts about their experience on social media. “Without information or experience, I don’t think that’s something I would Google on my own, museums. Maybe if I saw it on Instagram or saw it pop up on something … I would just have to know about it to be interested,” she said.
The factor of having prior information was valuable to multiple participants. One participant said having information is key when deciding if she will consider traveling to a museum. “Information and just being told, ‘Hey this is an awesome experience so you should take the boys and try it out.’ So I think if I heard from someone else’s experience that it would be something to check out, I think that would get my attention,” she said. Another interviewee agreed on the best way to get her to attend a place she’s never been. “I think it’s kind of word of mouth and hearing that a certain place exists,” she said. While the museum has understood the importance of word of mouth recommendations, these interviews proved how important that aspect truly is to a potential visitor, and this implies that the museum should focus its efforts on encouraging current members and visitors to share their experiences with friends, and even potentially offer incentives for bringing a new attendee to the museum.
Distance/Travel
One of the common themes found during the interview process was the lengths the interviewee would go to travel to a destination. The participant was asked what encouraged them to travel to a certain location and what factors were involved when planning a trip. The participant discussed how education was a major factor in why she chose to travel to different locations. She wanted her children to be exposed to all different types of information and stated it was something she could not do by just staying in her current place of residence. While describing why she takes her children to a science museum in Oklahoma City, the participant stressed, “I don't expect them to come away knowing every single dinosaur of all time but I want them to be exposed to those things so that eventually they want to study those things as they get older.” Her quote stresses the idea that in order for her children to receive the education she desires for them to have, she must branch out to other locations outside of Norman, OK. This implies that the participant would be willing to travel to new museums in the metroplex area for her children’s education. The participant’s response on why she is drawn to locations outside of Norman was particularly surprising since it would require more work than attending a museum or educational experience in Norman. However, the participant discussed that with her kids, she’s unable to travel more than five hours outside her place of residence for a day trip. The participant stated, “I think distance is really important. When you have kids involved, it’s like is this worth my while to make the trip?” Since distance is an important factor for this participant, she is always looking for new places to take her children. While she is willing to travel outside of Norman to find new places to educate her children, she wants it to be close enough so she isn’t spending most of her day traveling.
Interactive Museum Exhibits
One theme many interviewees commonly believe is that it is better to go to museums with interactive exhibits. Multiple interviewees think children as well as people of all ages tend to stay more engaged and willing to check out the exhibits for longer periods of time when there is something hands-on for them to do or see. One interviewee said that they enjoy “trying new stuff because you learn more from it.” They want things to be “educational but fun. That's why the hands on type of stuff is good.” Interactive exhibits are useful to attract more visitors, especially with young children or kids because it allows them to stay busy. Another participant said they look for “as much hands-on and easy reading so you can apply it to all ages.” Based on the common claim that interviewees had about the importance of museums having interactive aspects included within exhibits, it implies that many visitors would be more willing or interested in coming to the museum as long as they can interact with parts of it.
When describing memories from favorite outings with their children, one mom of three young boys described the most recent outing she took her children on that was most enjoyable. This outing included walking around a scenic lake and she said her kids’ favorite part was getting to throw some rocks into the water from an above bridge. This appreciation for young kids to get their activity out was reiterated in many interviews.
This specific interviewee has known about the Stafford Air & Space Museum for quite some time because it is en route for her to visit her parents and take her sons to see their grandparents. She said she has never carved out time to stop there because scheduled an additional stop because it appeared the museum might be a place with only content to be read or looked at and not much for the young children to interact with. She said when looking for outings to take the kids, she wants “something the kids can do and experience rather than look at.” The interviewee said when finding something fun, she would drive however long, it just has to be engaging and fun for the whole family.
COVID-19
A new and important theme found throughout multiple interviews is about how the global pandemic has affected access to day trips and interactive experiences for families. One participant remembers the struggle to keep her kids entertained throughout the pandemic, and said, “In the beginning parts of COVID, it was very difficult because they just shut everything down. Then the next stage opened places back up, but now you can't touch anything. So with the little kids, that's not as much fun because they want to touch everything. And so it has been a little bit challenging.” Other respondents revealed the struggle of keeping their families entertained while trying to keep masks on and social distancing. An interviewee stated, “The kids are tired of wearing masks. If it's a place that I have to keep a mask on, I'm going to want it to be a place where I can breathe easily so it has to be maybe air conditioned or, if they can make it so social distancing will allow for us to bring our masks down. Something to consider.”
Final Summary
Multiple participants shared new insight about their family trips to museums as well as unique tips and opinions on how to better the overall family experience. Key themes highlight the importance of having exhibits be hands-on and interactive for guests, especially for the younger generation to stay engaged. Unexpected information gained was mainly about the importance of location, including parking and food accessibility, especially for families making a day trip out to a museum. Word of mouth was also a vital part of information gained throughout interviews and highlighted the importance of social media that will sway a participant’s decision of where to take their family for the day. Each participant brought forth new and refreshing advice and fun experiences that will be used for research for the Stafford Air and Space Museum.
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