Ocean Today Kiosk Visitor Survey - supplemental questions

OMB Control No. 0648-0342 – Expires 12/31/2011

1. Explain who will be conducting this survey. What program office will be
conducting the survey? What services does this program provide? Who are the
customers? How are these services provided to the customer?
This visitor survey will be conducted by the Smithsonian’s Office of Policy and Analysis
on behalf of the National Ocean Service/Management and Budget
Office/Communications and Education Division. The Communications and Education
Division has, as one of its responsibilities, the management of the Ocean Today kiosk
(kiosk) program. This kiosk provides video and interactive ocean-related stories along
with recent weather and ocean news to the visitors of the Sant Ocean Hall exhibit located
in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The customers are the visitors
to the Sant Ocean Hall who use the Ocean Today kiosk. The information is provided to
the visitor via two 32” independently-operated touch-screens.
2. Explain how this survey was developed. With whom did you consult during the
development of this survey on content? statistics? What suggestions did you get about
improving the survey?
These survey questions are the standard visitor satisfaction question asked in all survey
studies designed by the Smithsonian’s Office of Policy and Analysis. Over the last five
years they have been used in nearly 100 studies and their validity, reliability and
usefulness have been clearly demonstrated. 1 In addition, the table below an illustration of
the stability of rating across Smithsonian museums and exhibitions.
Visitor Ratings of Smithsonian (SI) Exhibitions and Museums 2004-2009
Date

N

Poor

Fair

Good

Excellent

Exit Average

Exhibitions

Type

49 exhibitions

Number

2004-2009

14716

1

4

27

48

21

(in percent)

Museums

19 museum studies

2006-2009

6523

1

4

26

52

18

Museums

All SI Museums

Summer 2004

6082

0

3

29

49

19

(as of June 2009)

1

 An Analysis of Existing Data on Visitors to the Freer and Sackler Galleries
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2007/FSG.metadata.071114.final.pdf

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Superior

3. Explain how the survey will be conducted. How will the customers be sampled (if
fewer than all customers will be surveyed)? What percentage of customers asked to
take the survey will respond? What actions are planned to increase the response
rate? (Web-based surveys are not an acceptable method of sampling a broad
population. Web-based surveys must be limited to services provided by Web.)
The satisfaction questions will be asked of every user of the Ocean Today kiosk who
leaves the kiosk during the time of the survey (four one-hour periods over a period of two
days). In addition to a baseline administration of the survey, before changes are made,
there will probably be two additional administrations. It is expected that at least 80% of
these users will respond, based on previous Smithsonian customer surveys. 2
4. Describe how the results of this survey will be analyzed and used. If the customer
population is sampled, what statistical techniques will be used to generalize the
results to the entire customer population? Is this survey intended to measure a
GPRA performance measure? (If so, please include an excerpt from the appropriate
document.)
The survey will provide a rating for kiosk user satisfaction during the 2-day period. As
with all surveys of changing populations, results cannot be generalized to the population
of all users. However, by conducting the survey on a precise schedule, likely audience
differences can be minimized. The data will be gathered across relatively limited
timeframes, within which audience variation is known to be not significant based on past
experience of surveys conducted by the Smithsonian. Moreover, past studies by the
Smithsonian have shown that the visitor satisfaction question tends to be relatively stable
across many dimensions of visitor differences. The point of the survey is to provide data
to indicate whether changes made to the kiosk between administrations of the survey
2

 An Evaluation of the National Museum of Natural History Discovery Room, April 2007
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2007/DiscRm.final.070418.pdf
Response rate: 97%
Visitor Expectations and Responses to Inscribing Meaning, March 2008
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2008/IMFinalReportFinal.pdf
Response rate: 96% on entrance, 93% on exit
Visitor Views of Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service, March 2008
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2008/NPM.Inspectors.final.080305.pdf
Response Rate: 95%
Visitor Views of Trailblazers and Trendsetters: The Art of the Stamp, March 2008
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2008/NPM.Trailblazers.final.080305.pdf
Response rate: 92%
A Study of Visitor Responses to Facing East: Portraits from Asia, October 2006
http://si.edu/opanda/docs/Rpts2006/FacingEast.final.pdf
Response rate: 88%

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question are likely to have increased visitor satisfaction with the kiosk. This survey will
only be one of multiple ways of evaluating changes made to the kiosk.
The survey is not intended to measure a GPRA performance measure.

B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
1. Describe (including a numerical estimate) the potential respondent universe and
any sampling or other respondent selection method to be used. Data on the
number of entities (e.g. establishments, State and local governmental units,
households, or persons) in the universe and the corresponding sample are to be
provided in tabular form. The tabulation must also include expected response
rates for the collection as a whole. If the collection has been conducted before,
provide the actual response rate achieved.
Each administration of the survey will consist of four one-hour periods. During these
periods it is estimated that about 150 individuals will use the Ocean Today kiosk and
will be asked the satisfaction questions. In addition to a baseline administration of the
survey, before changes are made, there will probably be two additional administrations.
Since all users during the survey period will be asked the satisfaction question, the total
respondent universe will be approximately 450. The expected cooperation rate is over
80%.
2. Describe the procedures for the collection, including: the statistical methodology
for stratification and sample selection; the estimation procedure; the degree of
accuracy needed for the purpose described in the justification; any unusual
problems requiring specialized sampling procedures; and any use of periodic (less
frequent than annual) data collection cycles to reduce burden.
As stated above, all users will be asked to rate their experience with the Ocean Today
Kiosk. Additionally they will be asked what could be done to improve this kiosk.
3. Describe the methods used to maximize response rates and to deal with
nonresponse. The accuracy and reliability of the information collected must be
shown to be adequate for the intended uses. For collections based on sampling, a
special justification must be provided if they will not yield "reliable" data that can
be generalized to the universe studied.
Because this survey consists of only two questions, respondent effort is minimal.
Nonresponse is not expected to be a problem.

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4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods to be undertaken. Tests are encouraged
as effective means to refine collections, but if ten or more test respondents are
involved OMB must give prior approval.
There will be no tests of procedures or methods as part of this survey.
5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on the statistical
aspects of the design, and the name of the agency unit, contractor(s), grantee(s), or
other person(s) who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the
agency.
Technical Contact at the Smithsonian Office of Policy and Analysis
Andrew Pekarik
600 Maryland Avenue, SW
Suite 4200 MRC 502
Washington DC 20024
202.633.5593 (p)
202.633.5605 (f)
and
NOAA/National Ocean Service/Management and Budget Office/Communications and
Education Division
Mike Shelby
1305 East-West Hwy., N/MB6, Suite 9623
Silver Spring, MD 20910
301.713.3010 x203 (p)
301.713.4384 (f)

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