A practical guide to collecting audience survey data with respect and purpose.
This half-day training session will help your organisation get useful, high-quality data while improving your visitor welcome.
If we care about serving our community and our audiences well, we need to talk to them. And sometimes we need to talk to them in a way that is as statistically representative, unbiased and respectful as possible. That usually means doing a survey – via front of house, by email or online.
Done well, collecting survey data can be the source of incredible insight and inspiration for future plans, a mark of respect for your audience and – research shows – a fabulous opportunity to welcome visitors and get to know them. It can also be a frustrating chore on top of everything else we have to do!
This session is all about helping you to survey brilliantly and to reap all the benefits while minimising the pain. Blending advice on best practice with real-world experience and plenty of discussion, expect to leave with a host of top tips up your sleeve and a lot more confidence about the why and how of carrying out a survey in the field.
Who:
This session is designed for anyone managing data collection through surveys, especially those managing front of house or visitor experience teams. Although we cover some of the principles of good surveying and sampling – including digital surveys – the emphasis is on interviewer-led fieldwork – in venues, museums, outdoors, on tour and more.
What you will learn:
How to build surveying into a great, inclusive visitor experience
How to get the most representative sample and handle unconscious bias
What makes a survey sample meaningful
How to train and motivate fieldworker teams
How to overcome common data collection challenges
Format:
This session takes the form of a 3.5 hour workshop-style training session, with a half-hour rest break at the halfway point.
Participants are invited to pose questions about their specific challenges and exchange experiences with others. A resource will accompany the session and participants will also be asked to share views on forms of support they would find beneficial in future.
Aspects of the event will be filmed and available to view post-event.
Facilitators
Dan Cowley, Research Manager for The Audience Agency
Dan is an expert in quantitative audience research in the cultural sector having worked with hundreds of organisations tailor research programmes to their needs and circumstances
Megan Tripp, Service & Community Manager for The Audience Agency
Megan brings a wealth of in-venue experience as a specialist in access and inclusion as well as an in-depth knowledge of challenges faced by our Audience Finder users.
Anne Torreggiani, CEO of The Audience Agency
Anne is a passionate advocate for mindful surveying. She has been influential over three decades, improving practice and advocating for change in the cultural sector, especially in terms of encouraging an audience-centred approach and in the use of data and other evidence in the development of policy and practice.
