Expedited Form: Gulf Islands

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program

Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.

Project Title ⎢
Submission Date:

2.

Abstract:

Interpretation Study: Gulf Islands National Seashore

September 19,
2008

The National Park Service has contracted Amaze Design to develop exhibits for
an interpretive visitor center at the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS).
Amaze Design – working with People, Places & Design Research – seeks to test
alternative ways of making the exhibit content more accessible to select
audiences (visually impaired and Spanish-speaking) with an audio system for
interpretation. The purpose of this study is to explore whether audio approaches
are enjoyable and beneficial to visitors and what characteristics of the
approaches enhance or inhibit their use by these audiences. This study will be
conducted as a formative study. Small samples of potential visitors will be
invited to use one or more of the alternative audio systems and then will be
interviewed about their experience. The focus will be on two audiences:
visually impaired and Spanish-speaking residents of the region. The results will
provide useful insights that will inform the park’s investment in accessible exhibit
technologies for diverse groups.

3.

Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:
StreetAddress
City:

4.

Last Name:

Jeff

Hayward

Director
People, Places & Design Research
65 North Street
Northampton

State:

Phone:

413-586-9003

Fax:

Email:

[email protected]

MA

Zip code:

01060

413-582-0348

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:
Title:

Exhibit Planner

Park:

Harpers Ferry Center

Park Office/Division
Street Address:
City:

Last Name

Krista

Kovach-Hindsley

(Exhibits, Bottom Floor)
PO Box 50
Harpers Ferry

State:

WV

Zip code

25425-0050

Fax:

Phone:

240.429.6328

Email:

[email protected]

304.535.6251

Gulf Islands National Seashore, ‘Formative’ Audio Test (PI: Hayward)

p. 3

Project Information
5.

Park(s) Where Research is
to be Conducted:

Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS)

6.

Survey Dates:

6/1/2009

7.

Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
•
•

8.

Mail-Back
Questionnaire
Other (explain)

•

(mm/dd/yyyy)

On-Site
Questionnaire

to

; Face-to-Face
Interview

6/20/2009

•

Telephone
Survey

(mm/dd/yyyy)

•

Focus
Group

Survey Justification: Social science research in support of park planning and management is
(Use as much space as mandated in the NPS Management Policies 2006 (Section 8.11.1, “Social
needed; if necessary include Science Studies”). The NPS pursues a policy that facilitates social science
additional explanation on a
separate page.) studies in support of the NPS mission to protect resources and enhance the
enjoyment of present and future generations (National Park Service Act of
1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq.). NPS policy mandates that social
science research will be used to provide an understanding of park visitors,
the non-visiting public, gateway communities and regions, and human
interactions with park resources. Such studies are needed to provide a
scientific basis for park planning, development, operations, management,
education, and interpretive activities.
A “front-end study” about exhibit themes and concepts has already been
completed for this project (OMB #1024-0224 NPS #07-001). Concern
about the possible experiences of visually impaired visitors and Spanishspeaking visitors that were uncovered in the front-end study has prompted
an NPS commitment to provide some type of audio interpretation to the
proposed exhibits. This formative study will inform the choice and format
of that audio enhancement.
There are many assumptions, guidelines and opinions about how to make
museums more accessible for visitors with visual impairments, but there is
very little empirical research about the effectiveness of various
recommendations. Only a handful of journal articles have appeared since
1990 about this issue. Most of the studies are qualitative (not quantitative)
due to the difficulty of getting more than 12 visually impaired people to
come to a museum and participate in the research. There are conflicting
conclusions about what strategies are optimal, and many questions remain
unanswered. In a focus group (Owens Renner & Adams, 2003) some
visually impaired people suggested that they would prefer to push a button
at the exhibit to get auditory information rather than carry a hand-held audio
tour device because they need at least one free hand for their canes or guide
dogs. However, in actual practice in a museum designed for the blind, it
was observed that usage of push button audio information was very low
(Simon & Asensio, 1996). A cell phone audio tour (and navigational
system) was developed and used successfully in a pilot study at the NY Hall
of Science (Landau & Giusti, 2004). Some participants thought that
earphones would help them focus on the exhibit interpretation (by cutting
down the ambient noise level in a busy museum). However, the hearing
impaired depend heavily on sounds in the environment for navigation
(Gustafson-Pearce, Billet & Cecelja, 2007), so perhaps it would not be a
good idea to conceal these sounds with headphones. It may be that there are

advantages and drawbacks with any audio device (cell phones, headphones,
audio wands), but we need to know more about them in order to make
informed decisions.
We know that some museums (especially large museums in big cities) have
developed audio tours in multiple languages for their diverse international
and community visitors. However, there are only a handful of journal
articles in the past 10 years where museums have shared their experience
with audio tours or with other interpretive strategies for non-English
speaking visitors (bilingual labels, handouts, interpreters, etc.). None of
these articles describe empirical research. Early front end research for GUIS
observed that Spanish speaking audiences have some interest in print or
audio presentation of interpretation and perhaps a mild preference for audio.
The purpose of this formative study is to investigate potential visitors’ likely
use of and experience with audio interpretation. The results will provide
useful insights that will inform the park’s investment in accessible exhibit
technologies for diverse groups.
The research objectives are to:
• Determine whether these specific audiences are likely to be interested in
a form of audio interpretation.
• Determine whether people have a sufficiently satisfying experience with
any or all of the three forms of audio interpretation: ‘headset’ audio
(wear it, carry the pack), ‘cell phone’ audio (audio clips retrieved by
codes typed on a cell phone) or ‘wanded’ audio (carry a wand, buttons
keyed to specific exhibits). If preferences for one or another audio
approach are expressed, such preferences will be noted.
• Identify participants’ likes and dislikes regarding any of the alternative
audio approaches.
• Identify characteristics of the audio system alternatives (e.g., physical
apparatus, connection between audio and exhibit, instructions for use)
that may improve or detract from the experience of participants.

9.

Survey Methodology:
(Use as much space as
needed; if necessary include
additional explanation on a
separate page.)

(a) Respondent universe: There are two primary populations that would
be served by an audio supplement to the interpretation of these exhibits:
visually impaired visitors and Spanish-speaking visitors.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures: Adult participants (age 18 or over) from
the above target audiences will be recruited using multiple strategies:
including:
1) for people who are primarily Spanish speaking, contacts with local
churches who serve Spanish audiences will be used to tap into a network
of area residents (e.g., Our Lady of Fatima, Catholic Diocese of Biloxi);
in addition, some people who helped with the logistics of the previous
front-end research will be contacted to supplement these prospects (e.g.,
the co-facilitator for the Spanish-speaking focus group from that study)
2) for visually impaired people, local organizations in nearby Gulfport
and Biloxi (e.g., Mississippi Center for Visual Impairments, Low Vision
Support Group of Ocean Springs) will recruit participants; in the event
that such recruiting is too limited in numbers, the venue for this sample
will be moved to a larger city with the expectation of reaching a larger
pool of potential respondents (e.g., Mobile, AL).
We will seek feedback from 50 individuals – 25 in each of these two
target audiences. We estimate that up to 120 individuals may need to be
approached to achieve this final sample. Even with invited audiences,
and with compensation payments of $35 (to facilitate a schedule of
people arriving at timed intervals and possibly having transportation
costs to participate), we estimate that we will need approximately 70
people to agree to participate in order to have at least 50 people who
actually participate.
Safeguarding of personal information: During the recruiting process,
the researchers will collect names and contact information for
prospective participants (a reminder letter in Spanish and English for the
Spanish-speaking participants, or a phone call for the visually-impaired
participants will be made in advance of the testing days, including
directions). Contact information will be secured in the researchers’
office throughout the study and destroyed at the end of the study.
(c) Instrument administration: This study will be conducted in a public
location (e.g. church, community organization, NPS site) in the
Gulfport-Biloxi area (or Mobile, Alabama if enough suitable
participants are not available in Mississippi) that is easily accessible to
the target audiences. Participants (potential visitors from the two target
audiences) will be greeted when they arrive, and invited to use each of
the three audio options (headset, cell phone, wand) sequentially, in any
order they choose (participants will have been asked to bring a cell
phone with them; if they don’t normally use a cell phone or do not want
to use their phone, we will provide a disposable cell phone for their use).
When they determine that they are finished experiencing the exhibit
prototypes (some with tactile elements) and audio options, participants
will be interviewed. An experienced facilitator from the PI’s office will

participate in and supervise the administration of the interview,
supplemented by locally-hired independent interviewers. Interviewers
for the Spanish-speaking audience sample will be bilingual, conducting
the interview in English or Spanish as appropriate to the respondent’s
skills, but they will record answers in English or translate answers into
English after the interview is completed. Interviewers for the visuallydisabled respondent sample will be coached regarding the needs and
skills of that audience. These interviewers will speak English, although
they may also be bilingual if the final sample indicates this is needed.
With both samples, a “greeter” will welcome participants when they
arrive, compare names and times with the schedule established by
earlier sign-ups, introduce or remind people of the purpose of the study,
explain the procedures for using the three audio forms of interpretation,
and explain that an interviewer will be available to get their comments
and reactions when the participant is ready. For the Spanish-speaking
sample the greeter will be bilingual; for the visually impaired sample
the greeter will have experience working with visually impaired people.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels: We expect about 40% of
those initially contacted to participate in the study. Because this study
seeks primarily qualitative information using purposive samples
selected from targeted groups, there is no statistical basis for
generalizing the findings to all visitors. Therefore, response rates and
confidence levels/intervals do not present the same concerns as they do
in quantitative studies based on probability samples and employing
inferential statistical analysis. The primary information will be about
likes and dislikes regarding the audio system alternatives.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias: Because this
study design is qualitative and uses purposive samples selected from
targeted groups, non-response bias is not an issue for this study.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods
and/or instrument: The interview form for this research method (see
attached) is of a style that has been used in several other projects by
evaluation professionals at the PI’s firm (People, Places & Design
Research). It has been reviewed by content planners on the Amaze
Design team and by NPS representatives.
10.

13.

Total Number of
Initial Contacts |
Expected Respondents:

120

50

11.

Estimated Time to
Complete Initial
Contact | Instrument
(mins.):

4
min.

30
min.

12.

Total
Burden
Hours:

33
hrs.

Reporting Plan: A final report will be prepared by People, Places & Design Research and
will include a summary of the interview method, a summary of information
obtained, and an analysis and interpretation of the results. That written
report will be submitted to the NPS liaison and Amaze Design for review
and comment. Following clarifications if needed, the report will be formally
submitted to NPS and archived with the National Park Service Social
Science Program.