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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data 

A practical guide to arts participation research ! prepared by 

AMS Planning & Research Corp. 

p. cm.- (Research Division Report ; 30) 

Includes bibliographical references. 

1. Arts audiences -United States. 2. Arts surveys-United States. 

I. AMS Planning & Research Corp. II. Series: Research Division Report 

(National Endowment for the Arts. Research Division) ; 30. 

NX220.P73 1995 

700’. 1’030973- dc20 95-12004 

CIP 

2150 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06430 

Phone (203) 256-1616, Fax (203) 256-1311 
 _,JABLE OF CONTENTS
 

PREFACE .............................................. i -~i
 

|. ARTS PARTICIPATION STUDIES AND ...................1
 ..

AUDIENCE RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
 

What is Arts Participation Research? ........................2
 ..

Why Conduct an Arts Participation Study? .....................
 4
 

Assembling a Research Team ..............................8 ...


I!. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON
 

ARTS PARTICIPATION RESEARCH ...................... 13
 

Early Audience Studies .....................................
 14
 

Three Arts Endowment Studies Before 1982 .................15
 ..

The Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts ................. 20
 

Local Area Arts Participation Studies ......................... 23
 

Other Arts Participation Studies .............................
 27
 

Future Research Issues .................................... 29
 

III. THE ANATOMY OF AN ARTS PARTICIPATION STUDY ...31
 .

Research Planning ........................................
 32
 

Seeking Professional Assistance ...........................34
 ..


Methods of Collecting Arts Participation Data ................40
 ..


Response Rates and Bias ...................................
 44
 

Sample Design Issues ......................................
 48
 

Survey Design Issues ......................................
 53
 

Preparing Data for Analysis .................................
 62
 

Analysis and Reporting ....................................
 62 

IV. APPENDIX ........................................... 69
 

Sample Survey Instrument .................................
 70
 

Resources for Professional Assistance .........................
 80
 

Selected Geography Definitions ..............................
 81
 

Sampling Error Table ......................................
 82
 

Census-Defined Demographic Cohorts ........................
 83
 

Bibliography on Public Participation in the Arts ................
 85 
EFACE
 

...... ::’i~iiii!ii~iii(:: ::::::’~i:iiii!iii!~!:~i:.::: :’:’::~i!i!ii’:~::~’:’:ho is in the audience? Who isn’t? Why do people participate in 

~i~iiiiii~ :~iiii% :~ili’~::’ the arts? How can more people be attracted to our theaters, con­

~:~iiiii~ii~ ::~:iiii!iii~ cert halls, and museums? Since early this century, the quest for 

information about the American arts public has sparked countless research 

efforts - from simple audience surveys to national studies - to gain insight 

on how Americans relate to the arts. If, as some suggest, the arts are an 

essential means for cultural expression, then the study of arts participation is central to our understanding of American culture and its evolution. 

Interest in arts participation research has grown steadily since the early 

museum visitor studies of the 1920s. In post-World War II America, while 

arts administrators continued to seek information about their patrons, a 

larger constituency of policy-makers, educators, and funders grew active in 

the area of arts research. Changing demographic, cultural, political, and 

economic forces began to impact the demand for and supply of arts programs. During the 1970s an emerging focus became arts participation 

research - the study of both attenders and non-attenders - separate from 

and complementary to audience research. With a broader context, research 

began to examine arts participation patterns in relation to the supply of 

arts programs and facilities, and myriad other issues such as music preferences, arts participation through broadcast and recorded media, and barriers to increased participation. Today, such research is employed by local 

arts administrators as a resource for advocacy, facility development, cultural planning, marketing, and policy evaluation purposes. 

It is the goal of this publication to provide arts managers with an understanding of arts participation research at the national and local levels. To 

this end, a two-fold approach is taken. First, the historical development of 

arts participation research is summarized in order to gain perspective on 

current research. Second, readers are provided with an overview of how to 

conduct an arts participation study. Thus, the term "guide" is used to 

reflect the practical applications of the information provided. 
This report draws on the experience gained through numerous national 

and local arts participation studies, especially the nationwide Surveys of 

Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) conducted by the Census Bureau 

for the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982, 1985, and 1992 and the 

12 Local Area Arts Participation Surveys (LAAPS) conducted in 1992 by 

the Arts Endowment and local sponsors in each area. The first section 

defines "arts participation research" and discusses the reasons for initiating a study as well as how to structure a successful research effort. An historical perspective on arts participation research is presented in the middle 

section, tracing the progression of arts participation research in terms of 

both knowledge gained and methods used. The third section provides an 

overview of how to conduct an arts participation survey, from design to 

implementation of results. 

i~’~ii~:~:~:::~:~:::::~:~::ii~i hroughout the report and in the appendix, numerous references are 

provided to a range of research reports, instructional texts, and 

other publications on arts participation. Given the numerous 

demands on their time, arts administrators cannot be expected to have the 

time to follow the arts participation literature nor to possess the technical 

background to implement their own survey. Therefore the approach of this 

guide is to assume some level of professional assistance with research, 

rather than to spell-out every step in a hypothetical survey effort. This 

approach recognizes the varying research interests of arts administrators 

in different situations and allows for flexibility in the design of a study. 

Examples are provided throughout to illustrate a range of research 

solutions. 

Through this publication we hope to expand awareness and understanding 

of arts participation research and to assist local arts administrators in 

gaining fluency with the associated vocabulary and concepts. Armed with 

the background and technical information contained in these pages, the 

pathway to a successful study should be clearer. 

We are grateful to numerous individuals from arts agencies, service 

organizations, and institutions who shared their research experiences 

and provided examples of successful and unsuccessful studies; both were 

helpful. Special thanks to participants in the 12 Local Studies and to 
representatives of the Bay Area Research Project (San Francisco), the 

Audience Research Consortium (Toronto), the Greater Philadelphia 

Cultural Alliance, the Cleveland Foundation, and others for providing 

materials and de-briefing their research projects. 

More than anything, this handbook benefits from years of Arts 

Endowment-sponsored research - from the 1977 Audience Studies of the 

Performing Arts and Museums: A Critical Review (DiMaggio/Useera] 

Brown) which took stock of early audience research efforts, to John 

Robinson’s Arts Participation in America: 1982-1992, published in October 

1993. The insight gained through almost twenty years of arts participation 

research is vital not only to national policy-makers, but to local arts administrators who strive to understand the dynamics of arts participation in 

their own communities. 

Research Division 

National Endowment for the Arts 

January 1995 
SECTION I
 

PARTICIPATION
 

S AND AUDIENCE
 

CH TECHNIQUES
 

........ ~ii~ii~ nformation-gathering is an essential element of good arts management. Since the early museum visitor studies of the 1920s, audience 

........ ~iiiiiii~::~:~: research efforts at the local, regional, and national levels have explored 

the relationships between audiences, artists, and the institutions that 

bring them together. While arts participation was a simpler matter in 

the homogeneous society of America 

before World War II, the subsequent 

growth and diversification of the 

U.S. population has created a vastly 

more complex panorama. Today, 

policy-makers, arts administrators, 

funders, researchers and educators 

seek a better understanding of the 

forces behind arts participation and 

how they are changing or can be 

changed. 

Cultural diversity, shrinking leisure 

time, increased competition for disposable income, and other factors influence arts participation patterns in new and unknown ways. Technology, asCOMPUTER TECHNOLOGY 

well, impacts arts participation patterns - both in the home and at the the- HAS GREATLY IMPROVED

TELEPHONE SURVEY ater. How will the "information superhighway" impact arts participation?METHODS. 

In a rapidly evolving cultural environment, the need to re-shape programs, 

re-focus promotional efforts, and create relevant policies levies a strong 

charge for thoughtful research. 

Arts participation research emerged as a concept distinct from audience 

research in the early 1970s, when advocates and politicians sought to 
understand more about arts attendance patterns to inform policy decisions. 

The National Endowment for the Arts conducted Surveys of Public 

Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) in 1982, 1985 and 1992 - representing 

the most comprehensive research to date on trends in arts attendance patterns and related subjects. Numerous other national studies have also been 

conducted by various agencies and pollsters. An historical perspective on 

arts participation research is presented in Section II of this guide. 

At the local level, arts participation research has many applications. For 

example, survey results can be pivotal in lobbying elected officials for 

increased budget allocations. Assessing public attitudes about the arts (i.e., 

programs, facilities, public funding, etc.) can stimulate cultural planning 

efforts and add force to advocacy work. Measuring trends in arts participation patterns is a critical step in effective long-term policy development and 

evaluation for local arts agencies, especially in culturally diverse communities. The uses of arts participation research are discussed in detail below. 

First, arts participation research is defined and contrasted to audience 

research. 

WHAT IS ARTS PARTICIPATION RESEARCH? 

Arts participation research focuses on the general population; both users 

and non-users of all types of arts programs. Three characteristics broadly 

define these surveys: 

A general population is surveyed, such as all adults living in a certain 

area. Geographies to be studied can range from small cities or counties 

to larger regions, states, and the entire nation. 

Some form of random sampling is employed so that results can be 

generalized to the population being studied. (Random sampling implies 

that each person has an equal, known chance of being interviewed.) 

The survey includes questions about the individual’s participation in 

various arts activities as well as standard socio-economic and 

demographic variables such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, etc. 

Arts participation can include attendance at live performances, visiting 

museums, galleries or historic sites, reading literature, listening and/or 

2 
watching arts programs on broadcast or STUDYING ARTS PARTICIPATION

recorded media, and Audience Arts Participation 

performing or creating Research Research 

art (e.g., singing, Methods Audience surveys, Community surveys 

painting). focus groups and (random sample), 

interviews, mailing focus groups and 

list analysis, etc. interviews 

In contrast, audience 

surveys focus only on 

known attenders, often 

Research Topics Satisfaction with 

programs, reasons for 

attending, purchase 

Frequency of attendance, reasons for not 

attending more often, 

only at one particular decision factors, etc. awareness of arts 

arts institution. These programs, attitudes 

about the arts 

surveys are frequently 

conducted for market- Primary Uses Audience development, Advocacy, cultural 

ing purposes (e.g., to 

assess audience satiseconomic impact, 

testing promotional 

ideas, etc. 

planning, arts policy 

development, facility 

development 

faction levels), or to 

measure the expenditures made by audience members as part of an eco- AUDIENCE VS. ARTS 

PARTICIPATION RESEARCH. nomic impact study. In 1985, the Arts Endowment Research Division published a manual, Surve_ving Your Arts Audience, to help arts managers 

conduct more effective audience research. That publication, much like this 

one, was intended to raise the standards of research efforts and to promote 

industry-wide consistency in data collection efforts by establishing common 

research procedures.1 

The object of arts participation research is to obtain information about the 

characteristics of people who do participate in the arts and about those 

who do not. Results are usually generalized from a subset of members of a 

population to the population as a whole (such as a city or county). Since 

everyone in the community cannot be interviewed, a random sampling 

technique is necessarily involved. While other research methods (such as 

focus groups) can add valuable context to arts participation research, the 

"general population survey" is the primary vehicle for data collection, and 

is the focus of this guide. 

1A similar publication, Visitor Surveys: A User’s Manu~l by Randi Korn and Laurie Sowd, was published in 1990 by the 

American Association of Museums, and is available through AAM, telephone (202) 289-6578. 
Although issues addressed in arts participation surveys vary from project 

to project, certain "core" questions are common across most surveys. For a 

more complete discussion of survey design, see Section III. A few of the 

most frequently included topics are: 

arts participation via attendance at performances and exhibits, via 

broadcast and recorded media, and through creation of art 

frequency of participation 

awareness of arts programs, facilities, and institutions 

sources of information about arts events 

reasons for not attending more often 

participation in other leisure activities 

attitudes/opinions about the arts 

preferences for different types of arts programs 

Surveys covering these and other topics can incorporate standardized 

questions which have been used successfully in other surveys. A goal of 

this guide is to illustrate survey questions that have been successfully 

used in national and local arts participation surveys. The process of 

designing a survey is critical to the ultimate success of a research effort; 

there is no substitute for a rigorous and comprehensive research design 

process. The authors do not advocate wholesale copying of survey questions from any source, although there is much to gain from the experience 

of others after setting your own research priorities. 

WHY CONDUCT AN ARTS PARTICIPATION 

STUDY? 

Usually, audience research is undertaken in response to a particular marketing challenge (e.g., to test alternative subscription packages, to measure patron satisfaction levels). In contrast, arts participation research is 

used less frequently as a problem-solving technique and more often to aid 

in policy development. Results from arts participation research have many 

potential applications, including: 

Evaluation. Assessing the "state of the arts" in a locality or region 

involves arts participation research. Studying how the citizens of a 
specific area interact with the supply of arts facilities and programs can 

reveal important facts about the local arts system. When similar data are 

gathered over a period of years, it is possible to ascertain trends in arts 

participation patterns and begin to answer the question ’~how are we 

doing?" For example, communities experiencing rapid demographic 

change and/or cultural diversification conduct research focusing on the 

attendance patterns of key groups. Results can bring clarity to arts policy 

and may be used to support funding appeals for new arts programs, for 

example. 

Influencing Funding Decisions. Research is frequently conducted to 

ascertain public opinion on a variety of arts-related issues, often in connection with ballot initiatives. Tax-based funding is an important source of 

income for arts groups in some cities. (For example, in Denver (CO), Fresno 

(CA), and San Antonio (TX), a percentage of proceeds from various taxes is 

allocated to arts programs.) As arts advocates seek to build a case for 

increased public funding, research is conducted to assess public attitudes 

about the importance of the arts and voters’ willingness to support a funding initiative. Similarly, local arts agencies have used results from arts participation studies to strengthen the case for arts education funding, 

sometimes in conjunction with school board elections. 

Survey results, when used to influence public policy, may be subject to a 

high level of scrutiny, particularly 

from those with an opposing viewpoint. Understanding the methods of CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS 

Escondido, California obtaining high-quality data is particularly important when researching Prior to opening in 1994, management of this new arts 

public opinion. In addition to explor- complex conducted arts partidpation research to evaluate 

the market potential for various types of programming. ing current issues, such efforts can 

add valuable understanding to the A telephone survey was administered to a random sample 

arts participation patterns in a com- of 400 area households, probing topics such as frequency of 

munity. arts attendance, other leisure activities, purchase decision 

factors, personal values, and attitudes about arts programming. Results helped shape programming choices for the Evaluating Proposed Arts inaugural season, as well as creative marketing approachFacilities. Planning efforts for new es and targeting strategies. 

or renovated arts facilities (e.g., 
theaters, museums, cultural centers) frequently include a survey research 

component. Topics covered usually include: 

current attendance patterns/facility use 

perceived need for additional facilities 

preferences for site alternatives 

support of funding alternatives 

concerns about related issues (e.g., safety, transportation) 

The developer of a project (e.g., a Community Development Corporation or 

Redevelopment Agency) usually initiates the research effort, and the local 

arts agency is sometimes a partner. In a typical situation, research is conducted as part of a feasibility study. Publicizing results from such a study 

can help build awareness of the project. 

Obtaining Public Input for 

Cultural Plans. Numerous local 

ANCHORAGE CULTURAL MASTER PLAN	 arts agencies have undertaken cultural planning efforts which often 

involve survey research. In such The municipality of Anchorage completed a community 

cultural plan in 1993. The planning process included a plans, a community survey may be 

telephone survey of 350 randomly-selected households to used to measure frequency of particimeasure arts attendance patterns, attitudes about the pation, awareness of local arts pro­ arts and arts education, preferences for different types of 

grams, adequacy of existing arts activities, sources of information about arts events, and 

other topics. Respondents were also asked about their facilities, attitudes about arts-inwillingness to support increased public funding for the education, funding issues and other ~s through surcharges on movie tickets, video rentals, topics. The resulting data are used and cable TV bills. 

to develop priorities for local cultural 

Results were used to establish a "Quality of Life" development, such as expanded arts 

Coalition advocating for a stable source of public funds to facilities, programs and events, etc. support arts, culture, libraries, and amateur sports 

Other topics queried in a cultural 

plan survey might include sources of information about arts events, general use of leisure time, arts participation through the media, attitudes about 

a united arts fund drive, and opinions about public funding of arts programs. Cultural planning has been the catalyst for most of the local arts 

participation research conducted in the U.S. 
 

Supporting Advocacy 

Efforts. A primary N A T I O N A L S IY R V E Y 

reason to conduct arts 

participation research 

is to gather data which Many Renoites prefer can be used to heighten 

public awareness of the La Boheme to la ballgame. arts. In 1992 the 

National Cultural 

Alliance conducted a nationwide survey of 1,059 adults to measure the 

importance and availability of the arts and humanities in their lives. BILLBOARD ARTWORK 

DEVELOPED FOR THE RENO Results were released at a press conference and helped to shape a national ARTS COMMISSION. 

public awareness campaign. 

Research can also fuel local advocacy campaigns. The Reno (NV)Arts 

Commission used results from a local arts participation study to design an 

arts advocacy media campaign. Reno’s particularly high literature participation rate was the focus of radio and television public service announcements and a series of outdoor billboards. Survey topics relating to attitudes 

and opinions about the arts (e.g., interest in the arts, perceived importance 

of the arts, value of arts education programs) are most likely to yield 

results that can be used for advocacy purposes. 

A word of caution is in order about research conducted for advocacy purposes. It is incumbent upon an ethical researcher to refrain from designing 

survey questions to yield results the client wants. Thus, the real possibility 

exists that survey data may in fact be harmful to advocacy efforts, and the 

ethical researcher is obliged to report these results in an objective fashion. 

Substantial controversy can result from biased questioning and]or incomplete reporting; such activity can emasculate any research project and 

undermines the credibility of research in general. 

Audience Development. Arts participation research can play a vital role 

in audience development efforts. While audience research is limited to 

known attenders, a general population survey can collect valuable data on 

both attenders and non-attenders and the factors that distinguish them. 

For this purpose, surveys can help to identify: 
awareness of local arts programs 

potential audience segments 

CITY OF OAKLAND factors influencing attendance 

Oakland, California unique characteristics of local 

artists, arts organizations, and 

culturally-specific populations 

issues related to ticket 

about cultural interests, attendance habits, sources of 

information about arts programs, and related topics. distribution systems 

from known attenders. Although audience development is 

Results were used to brainstorm cooperative marketing generally a concern of individual 

arts institutions, local arts agencies 

"marketing and image enhancement campaign." Outside can play a coordinating role in idenconsultants also worked with individual arts groups to tifying common research interests 

among local organizations, and in 

providing technical assistance. 

Local arts agencies can also use 

research results to help constituent arts groups formulate umbrella marketing campaigns. Key to the success of such efforts is the involvement of 

marketing professionals who can help translate research results into 

creative promotional strategies. 

In addition to the uses of arts participation survey results noted above, the 

research process, itself, can favorably impact an organization in several 

respects. In a broad sense, an investment in research is a commitment to 

learning. The process of designing a questionnaire involves clarifying 

issues and setting priorities. This process - whether individual or collective 

- can bring a sharper focus to organizational goals and a heightened 

sensitivity to arts participation issues. Staff, board members, and other 

volunteers can also benefit from an enhanced understanding of research 

methods - technical skills that may be applied to future management 

challenges. 

ASSEMBLING A RESEARCH TEAM 

In addition to understanding the "what" and "why" of arts participation 

research, another key concept is the "who" - who can benefit from arts 
participation research, and how can they be involved in the process? At the 

earliest stages of planning a research effort, a constituency for the project 

should be defined and a "research team" assembled. (Section III of this 

report provides more information about research planning and seeking 

professional assistance.) Creation of a committee or task force comprised of 

key individuals who will be impacted by the research is a critical first step. 

Composition of the group depends on the purpose of the research and the 

level of oversight needed. Stakeholders might include: 

arts agency administrators 

public policy makers (elected officials, school board members, etc.) 

arts presenters and producers (staff and/or board members) 

funders (corporations, community foundations, etc.) 

media representatives (especially newspapers) 

artists (visual and performing artists, crafts people) 

tourism/visitor industry representatives, including local businesses 

The meaningful participation of stakeholders in all stages of research from 

planning to communication of the results accomplishes several things. 

First, the relevance of survey results will be enhanced if potential beneficiaries have a hand in survey design. Second, results will be more broadly 

distributed and better understood if more people have a vested interest in 

a successful outcome. Finally, a group of well-placed individuals can add 

credibility to a research effort. 

The research team may include individuals from a variety of backgrounds. 

For example, if the primary purpose of the research effort is audience 

development, the involvement of local presenters and producers (both performing and visual arts) will be essential. If the arts participation patterns 

of culturally-specific groups are to be studied, project leadership should 

include representatives of the cultures to be studied. If advocacy is the 

focus, business and media representation on the research task force will 

lend credibility to the results and facilitate their communication. One possible structure for an arts participation research project is presented in the 

chart on the following page. 
Public Radio
 

Station
 

Local
 

Orchestra
 

University
 

Presenter
 

Community
 

Theatre Co.
 

In preparing this 

guide, interviews were 

Local Arts 

Agency 

(fiscal agent) 

Project 

Funders 

conducted with sponsors of numerous local 

arts participation studProfessional ies in order to see how 

RESEARCH 

TASK FORCE 

Team 

(consultants,

research field 

results ultimately 

were used and to gain 

(mechanism for 

stakeholder 

involvement 

in research 

design and 

house, other 

specialists, 

etc.) 

experience which 

might be shared 

through this guide. 

project 

oversight) Generalizing from the 

comments of research 

sponsors, the most successful efforts - in terms of actions taken based on 

survey results - were those which involved broad-based community 

involvement in research planning, survey design, and interpretation of 

results. Research efforts in Sedona (AZ) and Reno (NV) were notably successful in this regard. In situations where stakeholders were less involved 

throughout the process, survey results were more likely to be greeted with 

skepticism and less likely to be acted upon. 

Consortium-Based Research 

Consortium-based research (where a group of organizations collaborate on 

a study) is increasing in popularity. In 1991, a group of thirteen museums 

in the San Francisco area cooperated on an audience development study 

known as the "Bay Area Research Project" (or BARP), focusing on how to 

reach more diverse audiences. A Board of Advisors was formed to oversee 

the research effort, which included one or more representative of each 

institution. In 1988, four Toronto-based cultural institutions affiliated to 

form an "Audience Research Consortium" (see next page). The group 

received government funding to conduct an extensive multi-year visitor 

study resembling the San Francisco study but broader in scope. Other 

examples of consortium-based research can be found, including those by 

the National Endowment for the Arts and national service organizations 

such as the National Cultural Alliance. 
Collaborative arts participation research is a relatively new 

idea in the arts industry. The amount of coordination necessary to successfully complete a joint research project is sub- ONTARIO RESEARCH

CONSORTIUM 

stantial, and with limited staff/board resources, arts groups Ontario, Canada 

can be reluctant to get involved. The chances of forging an
 

In 1988, the Art Gallery of
 alliance are greatly increased when a funder or other "project 

Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, champion" comes forward (e.g., a community foundation, localOntario Science Centre, and
 

arts agency, Chamber of Commerce). Also, arts participation
 Metropolitan Toronto Zoo formed 

research breaks the traditional problem-solving focus of an "Audience Research 

Consortium" to study how they research by forcing all participants to agree on common might individually and collec­ issues, all of which might not relate directly to their individ­tively attract a larger and more 

ual concerns.	 diverse audience. After a competitive bidding process, professional consultants were retained to Cost economies, however, strongly encourage collaborative conduct the research. 

research. In addition to arts participation surveys, such 

efforts can include: A three-year program of surveys, 

focus groups, and in-depth interviews was designed to explore cooperative audience surveys the demographic, situational, 

market area demographic and lifestyle reports psychographic, and motivational 

factors influencing attendance. analysis of overlapping audiences 

Results were published in a mailing list analyses using geo-demographic segmentationseries of three reports. 

workshops and other technical assistance programs 

The project was funded primarily through government grants. Research partners might include museums, orchestras, dance To obtain copies of the reports, companies, presenters, theater companies, opera companies, contact the Art Gallery of 

art schools, and public radio stations. Generally, the amount Ontario, 317 Dundas St. West, 

and quality of research that can be accomplished by a group of Toronto Ontario, Canada M5T 

1G4, telephone (416) 979-6660. organizations far exceeds the limited resources of any single 

organization. Collaborative research projects also make attractive funding opportunities for community foundations and local businesses. 

The process-intensive nature of collaborative research is both a challenge 

and an opportunity. Typically, some compromises need to be made in survey design, sample sizes, etc., in order to accommodate all participants. 

Working with a large research committee or task force can also be 

unwieldy. Project leadership needs to be clearly structured with carefully 

defined roles and responsibilities. 
SECTION II 

I ORICAL PERSPECTIVE 

PARTICIPATION 

ESEARCH
 

:~::iiiiiiiii:~ lthough arts institutions have been studying their audiences 

.:~::~!!!iil...~.:!!!iiiiiii~. since the early part of this century, it wasn’t until the 1950s and 

:::i~iii~ii~i~,~, 1960s that broad-based audience research began to evolve into 

arts participation research as we know it today. While early audience 

studies focused primarily on the characteristics of known attenders, more 

complex issues faced researchers as the cultural diversification of the U.S. 

accelerated and policy-makers sought new and better information about 

the changing arts public. Research focus began to shift towards studying 

both attenders and non-attenders and the factors distinguishing each 

group. As the nature of arts participation research became more complex, 

research methods also became more sophisticated and scientific. This section traces the development of arts participation research over the past 

several decades, highlighting a range of studies and their contribution to 

the field. 

With the establishment in 1975 of a Research Division within the National 

Endowment for the Arts, arts participation research began to be coordinated at the national level. Responding to the information needs of cultural 

policy-makers and the arts community, the Endowment’s Research 

Division has commissioned a substantial amount of research on artists, 

arts audiences, arts organizations, and related topics, and continues to 

play a central role. A milestone in the study of arts audiences was the first 

Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA) in 1982, which was 

repeated using similar methods in 1985 and 1992. Results from the three 

SPPA studies represent the most comprehensive data available on arts participation in the U.S. 

Arts participation research at the local level is a relatively new idea and 

mostly the result of interest sparked by the national surveys. A variety of 
community surveys, including the 12 Local Area Arts Participation Surveys 

(LAAPS) sponsored by the Arts Endowment in 1992, have studied arts participation patterns at the local level and uncovered some of the richness 

within each community. From an historical perspective, these local studies 

- and future ones - owe much to the accumulating body of nationwide 

research sponsored by the Arts Endowment and other agencies. 

EARLY AUDIENCE STUDIES 

Arts participation researchers credit much to a seminal audience study 

published in 1966 entitled Performing Arts - The Economic Dilemma, by 

William J. Baumol and William G. Bowen. Over a period of a year and a 

half, Baumol and Bowen studied the characteristics of performing arts 

audiences, surveying 153 performances of theatre, music, and dance, in 

over 20 cities across the United States. Survey topics included basic demographics, questions related to transportation, ancillary spending, frequency 

of attendance, and willingness to contribute. Results showed a relatively 

homogeneous, well-educated audience made up of primarily white-collar 

professionals with a median family income twice that of the urban population. The authors concluded that "Attempts to reach a wider and more representative audience, to interest the less educated or the less affluent, have 

so far had limited effects."2 

Baumol and Bowen’s work was significant in its breadth of 

data gathering and its depth of analysis; it was the first 

SURVEY EXCERPT effort to develop a composite profile of performing arts audiQ: Arts activities may include attending ences across America, and remains a landmark study in the live performances of music, dance or
 

theatre, visiting museums and galleries, progression of audience research.
 listening to recordings at home, or
 

creating art yourself, such as painting or
 

playing a musical instrument. Would
 Numerous museum visitor studies were conducted during you say that you are 

[READ LIST AND RECORD ANSWER] the 1960s and 1970s, although none comparable to the in arts activities?
 

Baumol and Bowen study in terms of breadth. Around this
 Extremely interested ..............1
 

Very interested ................... 2 time, audience research conducted by museums tended to be
 

Somewhat interested ..............3
 oriented towards visitor satisfaction and expenditure infor- Not too interested ................4
 

Not at all interested ..............5
 mation to be incorporated into economic impact studies. A

1969 study of 5,000 visitors to the Smithsonian Institution
 

2performing Arts - The Economic Dilemma, William J. Baumol and William G. Bowen, Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1966, p. 96. 
represented a large-scale effort by one organization.3 The same year, 

another study, somewhat broader in scope, gathered data on visitors to six 

New York museums.4 Historically, the American Association of Museums 

(AAM), a national service organization, played an important role in commissioning and publishing museum visitor studies, and in providing technical assistance to its member organizations. 

Canada provided one of the earliest large-scale arts participation research 

efforts: The Museum and the Canadian Public, published in 1974. 

Researchers interviewed a random sample of over 7,000 Canadians age 14 

years and over representing all Provinces. A brief survey relating to leisure 

activities - including visits to museums and historical sites - was administered through in-home personal interviews. A follow-up survey, one for 

museum participants and one for non-participants, was left behind for 

each respondent to fill out and return by mail.6 Results were generalizable 

to the Canadian population at a 95% confidence level with a sampling 

error of 1%. The study was significant not only in its findings but in the 

methods used, foreshadowing subsequent arts participation research in 

both the U.S. and Canada. 

THREE ARTS ENDOWMENT STUDIES 

BEFORE 1982 

Since 1976, the Research Division of the National Endowment for the Arts 

has been studying matters of interest to the arts community and issuing 

reports based on its findings. Different studies have focused on artists, arts 

audiences, and arts organizations. Prior to 1982 and the first nationwide 

SPPA, three separate studies examined public participation in the arts. 

Two of these studies explored different approaches to arts participation 

research (Reports #14 and #17), and the other presented a critical review 

of audience studies conducted prior to 1979 (Report #9). All three research 

efforts contributed in some way to the development of the nationwide 

SPPA surveys and to the progression of arts participation research in 

general. 

3Smithsonian Visitor, by Caroln H. Wells, Smithsonian Institution, 1970.
 

4David A. Johnson, "Museum Attendance in the New York Metropolitan Region," Curator, 1969.
 

5The Museum and the Canadian Public~ by Brian Dixon, Alice E. Courtney, and Robert H. Bailey, published in 1974 by
 

Culturcan Publications for the Arts and Culture Branch, Dept. of the Secretary of State, Government of Canada.
 
1. Audience Studies of the Performing Arts and Museums: A Critical 

Review., Research Division Report #9, 1978, by Paul DiMaggio, Michael 

Useem, and Paula Brown. 

The concept for this project was born in 1975 out of a concern on the part of 

Arts Endowment staff that audience studies being conducted by arts institutions across the U.S. were of varying quality and usefulness. Particularly 

since the Arts Endowment was asked to fund some of these studies, a critical review was thought to be needed before undertaking new audience 

studies. A total of 270 audience surveys were reviewed by the research 

team in light of two general sets of questions: 

What information about arts audiences can be ascertained from past 

audience studies when analyzed as a set? 

What caveats and guidance can be developed for future audience studies, 

especially with respect to methodologies, based on the collective 

experience of past efforts? 

In the course of their review, the investigators communicated with hundreds of arts managers and other individuals who had been involved with 

one or more audience study projects. The resulting report, finished in 1978, 

advanced thinking about audience research in two important respects. 

First, survey results for demographic variables (age, education, income, 

occupation, gender, and race) were compiled across many studies, to build a 

composite profile of arts attenders. Compiled statistics described a welleducated, relatively homogeneous audience with respect to age, race, 

income, and occupation. Commenting on the data, researchers observed: 

"Individual organizations need to standardize their survey 

data in order to make results more useful to themselves and to 

others." 

Further research was undertaken to assess motives for conducting audience research and under what conditions the data were used most effectively. The investigators found a lack of understanding of the potential 

applications of audience research and a general lack of concern over technical quality. Four recommendations resulted: 
support for systematic planning in the arts with some consensus as to
 

the role of audience research
 

creation of an information clearinghouse to publicize and disseminate
 

arts research
 

establishment of local consortiums for cooperative arts research to aid
 

institutions that cannot afford their own work
 

workshops on social science methods for managers and administrators
 

of cultural institutions
 

Finally, the study called for a more methodical approach to audience 

research, but stopped short of suggesting a general population survey: 

"... we need on a national basis routine gathering of
 

descriptive [audience] statistics over time. These should be
 

from a sample stratified according to institutional type,
 

region, degree of urbanization, programming policy,
 

professional status, and ticket prices."
 

"Non-attenders, who are of great interest to arts managers, pose a problem for audience research and may
 SURVEY EXCERPT 

require special attention through in-depth interviews." Q. I’m going to read a list of events 

that some people like to attend. If 

you could go to any of these events as 

More than any other single study, the DiMaggio/UseendBrown often as you wanted, would you be 

~ interested, somewhat interested, report laid the conceptual groundwork for subsequent arts or not interested in attending 

[READ AND ROTATE participation studies including the nationwide SPPA surveys, LIST] more often than you do now? 

and mandated increased technical assistance with audience 

surveys (e.g., Surve_ving Your Arts Audience, the 1985 

Research Division manual), and ultimately this guide. 

Classical music 

concerts 2. Audience Development: An Examination of Selected Jazz or pops concerts 

Analysis and Prediction Techniques Applied to S_vmphony and Country or folk music

concerts 

Theatre Attendance in Four Southern Cities, Research Opera performances 

Broadway musicals Division Report #14, 1981, by Alan Andreason and Russell Dramatic stage plays 

Belk. Comic stage plays

Modern dance 

performances 

Ballet performances Based on data collected in 1977, this study was notable for its Other 

attempt to predict what marketing tactics would cause 
increased attendance 

among different 

SURVEY ANALYSIS GROUPS ’leisure life-style" and 

"family life-cycle" Leisure General Family 

Life.Style Life.Style Life.Cycle groups, and what atti- Groups Stages tudes about the arts 

Passive homebody Traditionalism Young single	 were associated with 

future arts attendance. Active sports enthusiast Hedonism/optimism Young married 

With this emphasis on Inner-directed, Defeatism	 Young parent 

self-sufficient audience development, Parent of 

Culture patron school children	 the survey sample consisted of a total of 

Active homebody Cosmopolitanism Empty nest 1,491 frequent or 

Socially-active Outdoor interest Widowhood potential attenders 

Source: Research Division Report #14. Alan R. Andreason and Russell W. Belk. meeting certain eligibility requirements; 

those judged as having zero probability of attending theatre or symphony 

were screened out. Geographically, the sample was drawn in nearly equal 

parts from four southern cities -Atlanta (GA), Baton Rouge (LA), 

Columbia (SC), and Memphis (TN). All interviews were conducted by 

telephone. 

A lengthy, complex questionnaire consisting of over 150 items was completed by nearly all pre-screened respondents, demonstrating the viability of telephone interviewing in 1977. (Such a response would be 

considerably more difficult today.) In addition to a battery of arts participation questions, other areas of inquiry related to leisure activities, general attitudes and values, and reactions to various incentives to attend. 

Statistical procedures were used to classify respondents into different 

types of analysis groups, defined in the table above. The groups were 

then correlated to arts attendance variables to identify patterns in arts 

participation. 

In designing their study, the authors responded innovatively to questions 

raised in the DiMaggio/Useem/Brown critical review, which would later 

become integral to the nationwide SPPA surveys: 
Does the audience come from a single group or many groups?
 

How important is early experience in arts-audience participation?
 

Why do individuals attend or not attend arts offerings?
 

3. The Arts Public in the South, Research Division Report #17, 1984. 

Integrating results from several studies, this analysis examined participation in arts-related activities in the broader context of leisure activity. In 

Leisure Participation in the South, a 1979 study directed by Richard J. 

Orend, randomly-selected respondents in thirteen southern states 

answered questions about their participation and desired participation in 

45 different leisure activities - including arts activities. Based on survey 

results, nine "participation" groups and nine "demand" groups were 

defined and analyzed: 

LEISURE GROUPS 

’~Participation" Groups	 "Demand" Groups 

Performing arts attendance 1.7%	 Theater/music (not including jazz)/dance 4.6% 

performance attendance Active music and performing arts 1.6% Home media and sports involving radio 11.0% 

Television viewing 12.5% radio, TV, and records 

Music, plays, and poetry on radio, Jazz concert attendance and home listening 6.2% 1.9% 

records, and TV Participatory music and religion-related 6.0% 

activities Active sports 3.6% 

Visual arts activities and exhibit attendance 7.7% 

Visual arts exhibit and class attendance 4.2% Family-centered activities	 14.2% 

Home media, family, and friends 3.6%	 Community service/performing arts 3.2% 

activities/TV viewing Folk music/arts and craft/performance 6.5% 

activities Popular/folk]arts and crafts exhibit, fair, 6.0% 

and carnival attendance 

Active individual and family pursuits 17.0% Active sports and outdoor activities 9.6% 

Undirected participation 47.7% Unspecialized demand 31.6% 

Source: Leisure Particination in the South, Richard J. Orend. 
The study was also significant in that it investigated reasons for non-participation or "limited" participation in arts activities, a topic later developed in the 1982 and 1985 SPPA surveys. 

A second study, entitled Leisure Time Use in the South: A Secondary_ 

Analysis, by John S. Reed and Peter V. Marsden, analyzed data from three 

national surveys conducted in 1973, 1975, and 1978 by the National 

Research Center of the Arts (NRCA). In their analysis, Reed and Marsden 

examined leisure participation in the context of three dimensions: 

"active" vs. "passive" activity 

"away-from-home" vs. "at-home" activity 

"arts-related" vs. "non-arts-related" activity 

Since survey methods were similar, results from the Orend and 

Reed/Marsden studies were synthesized in a report, The Arts Public in the 

South, Arts Endowment Research Division Report #17. Findings related 

primarily to South vs. non-South leisure participation, demographic correlates of different leisure groups, barriers to increased participation, and the 

nature of unmet demand for arts-related activities. Both in terms of results 

and methodology, the Orend and Reed/Marsden studies made important 

contributions to the development of arts participation research, particularly in relating arts participation to leisure trends. 

THE SURVEYS OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 

IN THE ARTS 

Building on its previous research efforts, the National Endowment for the 

Arts initiated a series of nationwide surveys in 1982 to answer ten key 

policy questions related to public participation in the arts (see inset next 

page). These surveys were fundamentally different from previous research 

efforts in several respects: 

~,;i;~,;i;~,;~, Rather than just studying audiences of particular arts institutions, these 

would be general population surveys designed to profile the arts participation patterns of the entire U.S. adult population. 

i~i~i~i~i~ Different modes of arts participation were studied, including 
participation as performer, as audi- TEN POLICY QUESTIONS ence member, or through broadcast 

Ten policy questions posed by the National Endowment for and recorded media. the Arts guided the development and analyses of the ~:~: The surveys were designed to Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts: 

measure trends or changes in arts 1. How large is the current audience for individual arts and 

participation patterns over an indef- for the arts as a whole? 

inite period of time. 2. For the performing arts, what is the relationship between 

iiiii~iii~ Problems associated with tele- attendance at live performances and participation via 

television, radio, and recordings? phone sampling were addressed by 3. Does the extent and nature of arts participation vary with using a sampling methodology geographic region and with community type and size? 

involving personal interviews. 4. What is the relationship between an individual’s social, i~iiiiiiiii Standard definitions of certain arts	 economic and demographic characteristics and the 

individual’s participation in the arts? activities such as jazz, classical music, 

5. What effect does family background have on particip­ and stage plays were articulated. ation in the arts? 

6. Are there patterns of non-arts activities which are 

By design, the SPPA surveys repre- associated with arts activities? 

sented a new and improved 7. What are the extent and nature of unsatisfied demand 

for arts activities individually and as a whole? approach to arts participation 

8. What reasons do those who say they would like to attend research, answering, in many arts activities more oi~n give for not doing so? respects, concerns raised by 9. How is amateur participation related to attendance? DiMaggio, Useem and Brown in 

10. How does formal instruction and training in the arts their 1977 critical review of audi­ and early exposure while growing up affect later 

ence studies. Similar methods were participation? 

used to collect data for each of the 

three surveys, allowing for comparison of results across surveys, with some 

exceptions. 

SPPA questions were incorporated into the Census Bureau’s on-going study 

of a randomly selected subset of U.S. households. All adults aged 18 and 

over in the selected households were eligible to be included in the survey. 

In 1982 and 1985, about 75% of all interviews were conducted face-to-face 

in the respondents’ homes, with the remainder interviewed by telephone.6 

In 1992, about 80% of all interviews were conducted by telephone. Sample 

sizes were 17,254 (1982), 13,675 (1985), and 12,736 (1992), allowing for a 

6The Census Bureau states that no effective differences have generally been found between in-home interviews and 

telephone interviews for panel studies where pre-selected respondents have agreed to be interviewed. Results from the 

1992 SPPA appear to support this claim. 

2-/ 
high level of precision in survey results (e.g., sampling error 

rates of less than 1% for much of the data). 

SURVEY EXCERPT 

Q. Some people have made the follow- Generally, each of the three surveys were similar in design, ing statements. For each one I read,
 

tell me if you stro_xp_ag~ a~ree, somewhat with minor changes made to clarify or re-focus certain topics
 

i~_~, somewhat ~, or ~
 disagree. [ROTATE ORDER]	 and individual questions. With such large samples, certain 

questions were asked on a rotating basis to a subset of respon- A. I would go to arts and cultural 

events more olden if it cost less to dents, generating a broad range of data on topics related to attend. 

B. It is important to learn about the arts participation including: arts participation via broadcast art and culture of people from 

different backgrounds.	 and recorded media, other cultural and leisure activities, 

C. I am primarily interested in the art socialization into the arts, interest in attending more often, and culture of my own ancestors. 

D. I like to attend lots of different	 and music preferences. types of arts and cultural programs. 

E. I attend cultural activities to teach 

my children about their cultural A substantial volume of research work has been published as heritage and traditions. 

F. Arts and cultural activities are only a result of the SPPA surveys, including general reports and for the wealthy. 

research notes on each of the three surveys and numerous 

monographs examining special topics in some depth. (A bibliography on 

public participation in the arts is included in the appendix.) In connection 

with the 1992 SPPA, the Arts Endowment commissioned these special 

reports: 

Age Factors in Arts Participation, Richard A. Peterson and Darren E. 

Sherkat 

American Participation in Dance, Jack Faucett Associates 

American Participation in Theatre, AMS Planning & Research Corp. 

Americans’ Personal Participation in the Arts, Monnie Peters and Joni 

Maya Cherbo 

Arts Participation and Race/Ethnicit_v, Jeffrey Love and Bramble C. 

Klipple 

Arts Participation b_v the Bab_v Boomers, Judith Huggins Balfe and Rolf 

Meyersohn 

Cross-Over Patterns in Arts Participation, Richard J. Orend and Carol 

Keegan 

Effects of Education and Arts Education on Americans’ Participation in 

the Arts, Louis Bergonzi and Julia Smith 

Hold the Funeral March: The State of Classical Music Appreciation in 

the U.S, Nicholas Zill 
Jazz in America: Who’s Listening?, Scott DeVeaux 

Patterns of Multiple Arts Participation, Jeffrey Love 

Reading in the 1990s: Turning a Page or Closing the Books?, Nicholas 

Zill 

Socialization in the Arts - 1992., Richard J. Orend and Carol Keegan 

Tuning In and Turning On: Public Participation in the Arts via Media 

the United States, Charles M. Gray 

The Arts Endowment continues to evaluate its research programs and 

refine the content and methodologies of survey efforts. In her 1990 planning report, Public Participation in the Arts: A Review of Data Sources and 

Data Needs., Constance F. Citro makes a strong case for continued government-sponsored arts participation research, and identifies emerging 

research issues, including: 

What has been the impact of changes in government spending for the 

arts on public participation? 

What has been the impact of admission fees and higher ticket prices that 

many museums and performing arts groups have had to adopt to cope 

with financial stresses? 

What has been the impact of the alarming decline in the quality of 

American primary and secondary education on arts participation? 

LOCAL AREA ARTS PARTICIPATION STUDIES 

As the quality of nationwide research on public participation in the arts 

increased, so did interest in arts participation at the local level. Since their 

focus was primarily national, the SPPA surveys were not designed to yield 

state or local level estimates of arts participation. Local arts administrators, seeking to understand arts participation patterns in their own commmxities, formed research projects based largely on the national surveys, 

but adapted to local situations. Several examples, illustrating a range of 

local studies, are described here. Experience gained through these efforts 

contributed greatly to this guide. 
1. Cultural Participation in the Philadelphia Area, commissioned by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance through 

SURVEY EXCERPT the William Penn Foundation, 1984. 

Q. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not 

at all important and 5 is ~ 

important, tell me how important each The primary purpose of this research effort was to assist local of the following are, in terms of their 

contribution to your quality of life? arts administrators in audience development. A research advi­ [READ - DO NOT ROTATE - REPEAT 

SCALE AS NECESSARY]	 sory committee, including staff members from many of 

Philadelphia’s cultural institutions, provided input into survey design and the analysis of results. The survey instrument 

was divided into two parts; a number of arts participation 

Quality public schools 12345 questions borrowed from the 1982 national SPPA, and other 

Professional sports 12345 questions addressing issues of local interest. A total of 404 Aprofessional 12345 

orchestra	 interviews were completed by telephone using a random samParks and recreational 12345 pling method. activities 

Touring Broadway 12345 

productions Results were compared to data from the 1982 national SPPA, 

Museums and galleries 12345 including an analysis of Philadelphia area arts participation Aprofessional theatre 12345 

company rates across the two studies (generally, participation rates 

were within one or two percentage points). Other data related 

to barriers to increased attendance, sources of information about arts programs, factors influencing future attendance, audience potential during the 

summer months, and the ticket purchase decision process. 

2. Marketing the Arts in Cleveland: An In-Depth Survey, commissioned by 

the Cleveland Foundation, 1985. 

An example of collaborative research, nineteen cultural organizations participated in this study conducted by Ziff Marketing Inc. and Clark, Martire 

& Bartolomeo, Inc., both of New York. The research addressed issues relating to cultural development in the Cleveland area, including: 

How big is the area arts audience, currently and potentially?
 

What factors operate in the decision to use or not use the area’s cultural
 

resources?
 

What marketing approaches might prove most effective in capturing a
 

larger audience?
 
A total of 3,050 interviews were conducted by telephone with heavy, light, 

and non-users of each participating institution, as well as 300 interviews 

with area adults who never attend the arts. Survey topics included interest 

in the arts, leisure values, factors impacting the decision to attend, crossinstitutional use, background factors affecting arts participation, and ticket pricing. Participating organizations were given the opportunity to add 

questions to the surveys administered to their own constituents, and thereby receive additional, confidential data. 

Researchers described a large "interest gap" between actual attendance 

rates and expressed interest in an artistic discipline. For example, among 

those who were ’~¢ery interested" in musical theatre, less than half actually 

attend. The study also concluded that cross-institutional use was common, 

and that cooperative marketing efforts would be advantageous to both consumers and arts institutions. 

3.12 Local Studies of Public Participation in the Arts, National 

Endowment for the Arts, 1992. 

To complement the 1992 SPPA, the Arts Endowment organized and cosponsored a series of 12 local area arts participation surveys (LAAPS) in 

partnership with sponsors in each area. Survey sites ranged from Sedona, 

Arizona (1990 population 15,500) to metropolitan Chicago (1990 population 

7.26 million). The local surveys were undertaken to build a better understanding of variations in arts participation patterns between different communities and to provide local sponsors with valuable information about 

their areas. Each local survey consisted of three components: 

a "Core Questionnaire", common to all 12 sites, including arts 

participation and demographic information identical to the 1992 

nationwide SPPA 

a set of questions, common to all sites but not included in the 1992 

national SPPA, concerning facilities where arts participation occurred, 

reasons for not attending more often, and sources of information about 

arts events 

community-specific modules, developed by the local partners to address 

specific information needs in each community 
The surveys were conducted by telephone over a three month period from 

February to May 1992. To add context to survey results, additional 

research was conducted to assess the availability of arts programs and 

facilities in each local area. A summary report related arts participation 

patterns to the supply of local arts programs and facilities.7 

Much was learned from the 12 Local Studies, both in terms of the knowledge gained through research results, and the experience gained through 

conducting 12 arts participation studies for 12 different sponsors in 12 different areas. While survey results from the 12 Local Studies could not be 

compared directly with SPPA results (because of methodological differences), comparisons across the 12 sites revealed some of the dynamic 

forces - such as arts facility development, demographic shifts, and local 

cultural traditions - that shape arts participation patterns at the local 

level. Attempting to understand the local conditions surrounding arts participation levels may eventually lead to a transfer of arts development 

strategies between cities. 

4. Dane County Arts Study, commissioned by the Madison (WI) 

Community Foundation, 1992. 

In an effort to increase public support of the arts in Dane County, 

Wisconsin, a community arts task force was convened by the Madison 

Community Foundation to solicit input on a research effort. Designed primarily for advocacy and audience development purposes, the study included two components, a series of five focus groups, and a general population 

survey of 400 Dane County residents. Research was conducted by Gene 

Kroupa & Associates, a Madison-based research and consulting firm. 

Survey topics included unaided awareness levels of local arts groups, interest and participation in the arts, importance of the arts, cultural tourism, 

and barriers to increased participation. The survey also tested the likelihood that various marketing offers (e.g., discounts, cross-institution ticket 

packages, an arts "hotline") would increase attendance. Illustrating how 

multiple research methods can work together, data collected through focus 

7Summary Report: 12 Local Studies of Public Participation in the Arts, Research Division Report #26, National 

Endowment for the Arts, prepared by AMS Planning & Research Corp., 1993. 
group discussions helped shape the content of the survey. 

Numerous other local area studies have explored aspects of 

arts participation. The most common examples are surveys SURVEY EXCERPT

Q. Let’s start by talking about how conducted in connection with cultural planning efforts and you spend your free time. I’m going to 

read a list of activities that some peo­ the development of new arts facilities. A bibliography in the 

appendix lists selected local studies and their sponsors. 

ple enjoy. Tell me if you are ~ 

~, somewhat ~, somewhat 

OTHER ARTS PARTICIPATION STUDIES 

to... [READ AND ROTATE, 

REPEAT SCALE AS 

NECESSARY] 

1. Americans and the Arts I-VI, commissioned by the Attend sporting events 1234 

American Council for the Arts and sponsored by Philip MorrisRead books for pleasure 1234 

Companies Inc.; research directed by Louis Harris, 1973-1992 Visit an amusement or 1 234
 

theme park
 

Visit museumsorgalleries 1 2 3 4 Starting in 1973, this well-publicized series of arts participa- Participate in church or 1 2 3 4 

tion surveys has been used primarily for advocacy purposes religious activities 

by the American Council for the Arts. The most recent study, Exercise or play sports 1 2 3 4

Attend live performances 1 2 3 4 completed in 1992, involved a random sample of 1,500 U.S. of music, dance, or theatre 

households. All interviews were conducted by telephone. Do volunteer or charity 1 2 3 4 

work Survey topics included: Do homeimprovement 1 2 3 4 

activities 

attitudes about the importance of the arts, and arts-in- Take art classes, dance, 1234
 

or music lessons
 education
 

personal participation in the arts through painting, writing, etc.
 

attendance at various types of arts activities
 

arts participation through broadcast and recorded media, and related issues
 

reasons for not attending more olden
 

In contrast to the SPPA studies sponsored by the Arts Endowment, and in 

keeping with their advocacy focus, the Harris studies probed attitudes, 

opinions, and perceptions about the arts, artists, and arts-in-education 

more extensively, and were less concerned with consistency and objectivity 

in questionnaire wording and measuring trends. Generally, differences in 

methodologies prevent direct comparison of results from the Harris 

surveys with SPPA data.S 

SCopies of Americans and the Arts VI, including the survey form, tables, and survey methodology, may be obtained through 

ACA Books, American Council for the Arts, 1 East 53rd St., New York, NY 10022-4201, telephone (212) 223-2787. 
2. Canadian Arts Consumer Profile, 1990-1991, commissioned by 

Communications Canada (a consortium of cultural ministries in all ten 

Canadian provinces plus the cities of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto), 

research conducted by Decima Research and Les Consultants Cultur’inc. 

The Canadian Arts Consumer Profile constitutes the first nationwide study 

of arts participation in Canada. Through a series of self-administered mail 

questionnaires and telephone surveys, both existing audiences and the general public were studied, encompassing both audience research and arts 

participation research as defined in this guide.9 A total of six different surveys were administered for this study; four audience surveys and two general population surveys (sample sizes in parentheses): 

Audience Surveys 

Festivals Short Questionnaire - a self-administered form distributed to 

audiences at festival events throughout Canada (N=5,650) 

Performing Arts Short Questionnaire - a self-administered 

form distributed to audiences at music, dance, and theatre 

performances of all types (N=33,930) 

SURVEY EXCERPT Performing Arts Long Questionnaire - a self-administered 

Q. If there was a central telephone form mailed to performing arts attenders (N=7,412) number that you could call 24-hours a 

day to find out about upcoming arts Visual Arts Long Questionnaire - a self-administered form

and cultural events, would you be mailed to lists provided by galleries, artist-run centres and [READ LIST] to use 

such a service. individual artists (N=1,672) 

Very likely ..................... 1
 

Somewhat likely ................ 2
 Arts Participation Surveys Not very likely ................. 3
 

Not at all likely ................ 4 

General Public Telephone Questionnaire - a seven-minute Q. If this telephone call was to a 900
 

number that cost $1.00 to make and survey of randomly-selected Canadian households (N=11,106)
 was charged to your telephone bill, 

would you be [READ General Public Long Questionnaire - a self-administered 

LIST] to use such a service? form mailed to randomly-selected households (N=5,457) 

Equally likely ................. 1 

Somewhat less likely ............ 2 

Much less likely ................ In total, over 65,000 completed surveys were analyzed. Survey 3 

design involved extensive consultation with arts professionals 

9For information about obtaining a copy of Findings: C~n~dian Arts Consumer Profile. 1990-1991, contact the Director 

General, Arts Policy Cultural Development and Heritage, Department of Canadian Heritage, 365 Laurier St., 16th Floor, 

Journal Tower South, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OC8, telephone (613) 991-5727. 
as well as focus groups with arts marketing experts. Each questionnaire 

was tested first in focus groups and subsequently on a small sample of eligible respondents. In terms of content, the arts participation surveys 

included a broad range of questions concerning leisure activities, performing arts attendance, general attitudes and opinions about the arts (used to 

develop psychographic typologies), opinions on accessibility and ticket-pricing, young audiences and childhood experiences, the visual arts, media 

coverage, and demographics. Use of the self-administered mail survey - in 

addition to the shorter telephone survey - allowed researchers to probe 

survey topics in substantial depth. 

The nature, scope, and research methods of the Canadian Arts Consumer 

Profile study were significantly different from the Arts Endowment-sponsored Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts, although some survey 

topics were similar, including frequency of arts attendance and childhood 

experiences in the arts. Given its breadth in terms of content and the fact 

that both audiences and the general public were studied, the Canadian 

study is an excellent resource for local arts administrators in conceptualizing their own audience and arts participation studies. 

FUTURE RESEARCH ISSUES 

The more we learn about arts participation, the more we discover remains 

to be learned. As studies accumulate and our collective understanding of 

the arts public evolves, the demographic, lifestyle, and cultural forces that 

shape arts participation in our society seem to change even more rapidly. 

In such a dynamic research environment, constant evaluation of research 

priorities, goals and objectives is necessary to regenerate momentum created by past efforts. A December 1992 conference sponsored by the Arts 

Endowment created an opportunity to reflect on several decades of arts 

participation research, to share the value of existing data, and to brainstorm future issues and directions for arts participation research. 

Attended by researchers, educators, funders, and arts managers, the conference brought together a wide range of viewpoints about the purpose and direction of arts participation research.10 A number of over-riding ideas emerged: 

10For a summary of conference proceedings, read Research on Public Participation in the Arts: S,lmrnary_ Report on the,

December 1992 CQnf~r~nce, available through the Research Division of the National Endowment for the Arts. 
More detailed data is needed to investigate the arts participation 

patterns of different demographic, geographic, lifestyle, and life-cycle 

groups. 

Definitions of arts activities (e.g., "classical music") are subject to 

interpretation by survey respondents; more information needs to be 

obtained on how the public defines arts participation, and the number of 

categories of participation needs to be broadened in future research 

efforts. 

There appears to be a shift of focus away from factors that prevent 

participation (i.e., barriers) to factors that cause (or lead to) 

participation. 

More information is needed about the cultural identity of respondents, 

including multi-cultural households, languages spoken, family 

immigration history, and self-defined cultural identity independent of 

race or nationality. 

More information about television as an arts participation medium is 

needed. Are cultural programs on TV displacing or supplementing live 

performances? 

A common call was made for more research at the local level, allowing for 

investigation of arts participation patterns within a specific area with 

known facilities, programs and cultural traditions. 

Synthesis of these and other ideas shared during the conference suggests 

that future research of a more exploratory nature using qualitative methods would complement existing survey efforts such as the SPPA. Arts managers continue to demand better information about consumers, calling for 

more application-oriented research particularly with respect to how decisions are made to attend arts activities. Finally, it was agreed that more 

local area studies using a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures would add substantial context to the broad, nationwide patterns 

observed through previous arts participation surveys. 
SECTION III 

HE ANATOMY OF AN ARTS
 

IPATION STUDY
 

..... ~!~ili!iiiiiill:~: ~;~;~:i!iiiiiiii!i~i:i;:~ :::~:~.:iiiiiiii~:~::hat constitutes a successful arts participation study? How much 

~::~’iiiiiii:~: :~iii~!~’~!~iiiiii~, .,iiii’:’: time, money, and other resources should be allocated? Where do 

:~i~i~iii:: :::~’~i~:~: the critical decisions come throughout the research process~ 

Where can a research effort go awry and how can costly mistakes be avoided? This section begins to answer these and other process-related questions. 

Unlike audience surveys which can be standardized in design and implementation, arts participation surveys have much broader applications and 

numerous different approaches. Since every arts participation survey is 

unique in design and purpose, there are no easy instructions to follow; no 

single prescription for a painless project. There are, however, numerous 

past studies from which to learn. Generally-accepted research methods 

should guide research design, and commonly-used survey questions can be 

borrowed or adapted. 

You do not need a graduate degree in market research or statistics to oversee a successful research effort. Professional researchers can guide you 

through the technical aspects of research design, data collection, and statistical analysis. You should, however, be familiar with the vocabulary of 

market research in order to communicate effectively with your research 

team. Some of the basic concepts behind survey research are covered in 

this section. For a more thorough understanding of the theory behind market research, consult an appropriate textbook.ll Use this guide to learn 

how to structure and manage a research process - from planning and 

design to data collection and implementation of results - and to understand your options along the way. 

llOne excellent resource is State of the Art Marketing Research by A.B. Blankenship and George Edward Breen, copyright 1993 by NTC Business Books; available through the American Marketing Association, 250 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, 

Illinois 60606. 
RESEARCH PLANNING 

Benefit from the experience of others. Find out about previous artsrelated research undertaken in your community or region. You may be surprised to learn about existing audience or arts participation studies. Contact your state arts agency to see what research might be available at the 

statewide level. Review copies of old questionnaires and research reports. 

What ideas can be borrowed? What would you do differently? You may discover "baseline" data against which you can compare your own results. 

A short telephone conversation with a colleague who has conducted a comparable research effort could save you hours of time and thousands of dollars. 

Representatives of national service organizations, including the Arts Endowment, may also be of assistance. Finally, professional consultants or researchers may be able to refer you to comparable efforts. The time that you 

invest in learning about other research efforts should pay off handsomely. 

Create a case statement for your research project. Why are you conducting an arts participation survey? What do you hope to accomplish? 

How will you use the results? Articulating the purpose and goals of a 

research effort is an essential and often difficult first step. Before you 

assemble a research team and before you seek funding or allocate 

resources, draft a short research statement that can be circulated for 

review and comment. Make sure you: 

outline your reasons for initiating a study and how it is consistent with 

your organizational mission to do so 

spell out the questions you hope to answer, or the hypotheses you wish 

to test 

state the importance of the information to be generated 

list who will benefit from the findings 

establish the basis for interpreting and acting on survey results 

Essentially, create a project case statement that can be used to muster 

support, involvement, and funding. Later in the research process, if, for 

example, the first draft of your questionnaire is too lengthy, return to the 

case statement for clarity and direction. The document can also serve as 
 

the foundation for a Request for Proposals ("RFP") if you plan 

to solicit bids from professional consultants or researchers. ==SPOT SURVEY

In early 1994, the Director of a 

large performing arts center Start a participative process immediately. If you envision was nearing a deadline for a collaborative research effort, contact each of the potential programming commitments 

research partners and seek their input on the case statement. for the following season. Sales 

for the center’s jazz presenta- If your research effort does not involve other organizations, tions had been unpredictable circulate your case statement in draf~ form to board/advisory over the past few years, and 

committee members and to senior staff for their review and future jazz programming was 

in question. comment, or form a research review panel to provide input 

throughout your project. Generally, the more input you get, A short telephone survey was 

the better your chances for support later in the project. For designed to collect data on 

preferences for types of jazz, example, if you hope to use survey results for advocacy purattendance at other programs,
 poses, publicizing results will be important. Identify and con­ sources of information about 

tact media representatives in your area who might get jazz programs, etc. A total of 

involved in your project. 100 known attenders and 100 

non-attenders were sampled. 

Estimate the resources you’ll need. Do you have the time, Results were available two 

money, technical skills, and other resources to successfully weeks after survey design was 

completed, and helped man­ complete an arts participation study? agement make last minute 

adjustments to program plans 

iiiiiiiiill Time - What is an appropriate time frame for your study? and promotional strategies. 

Are results needed before an election? Is your study part of a 

larger planning process with a timetable? When will the announcement of 

survey results have greatest impact? A short telephone survey can take as 

little as three weeks to design, administer, and analyze (see inset). When 

the timeliness of data is essential, such an approach can be rewarding. For 

a more involved research project, a typical time frame might be three to six 

months or longer. 

~!!!i Money - A number of factors impact the amount of money needed to finance 

an arts participation survey. Key cost factors are: number of completed interviews, survey length (number of data elements), sample design (especially 

respondent eligibility requirements), and of course, the extent of professional 

assistance needed. Thus, cost figures vary widely from project to project.12 

12One excellent resource on holding down the price is Cheao But Good Marketin~ Re~e0xch by Alan Andreason, published 

by Business One Irwin, Homewood, Illinois 60430. - ­
The cost of data collection is only part of the total project expense. How 

much assistance is needed with research design? Analysis and reporting? 

Should you plan a facilitated workshop at the end of the project to discuss 

survey results and "next steps?" Too often, after many thousands of dollars 

are spent collecting data, results are underutilized for lack of resources or 

commitment to research interpretation and follow-up. 

~ii!~i~i~!~ Technical Skills - What technical skills can you bring to the table, and 

what research expertise needs to be brought in? Be realistic - the level of 

professional help you need weighs in the balance. To some extent, project 

costs can be lowered if in-house people are knowledgeable about survey 

research. For example, if a staff or board member has experience with statistical analysis, it may be unnecessary to pay a professional for data 

analysis and reporting. Assess your options for technical assistance in light 

of quality standards and available resources. 

i~!i!~!~!~! Other Resources - The amount of staff time needed to oversee an arts 

participation study should not be under-estimated, particularly in the early 

stages of research planning and design. Time consuming tasks can include 

selecting consultants, seeking project underwriting, organizing research 

committee meetings, and other process-related work. Consider carefully 

how this work load might impact your organization. 

The most important investment you can make in a successful arts participation study is an investment of time and thought in planning. By developing a case statement, learning about previous studies, initiating a 

participative process, and by understanding the resources needed for a successful study, your research effort will be off to a healthy start. 

SEEKING PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE 

"Surveying an entire community.., presents enormous difficulties for most arts organizations. In fact, we would strongly 

urge most arts organizations not to undertake community 

surveys on their own." - Surve_ving Your Arts Audience, Arts 

Endowment Research Division Manual, 1985 
Given the technical complexities of survey design, random 

sampling, and statistical analysis, it is recommended that 

some level of professional assistance be secured for all arts SURVEY EXCERPT 

participation studies. The primary reasons for working with Q. Typically, how far in advance do 

you purchase tickets to performing professionals include: credibility - involving outside arts programs in your area? [READ 

EACH] researchers brings an element of objectivity to the study; 

A month or more ahead of time ...... 4 expertise - knowledgeable researchers can help you avoid Several weeks in advance ........... 3
 

The week of the performance ........ 2
 common mistakes in survey design and data collection; speed The day of the performance ......... 1
 - experienced professionals can fast-forward you through different parts of the study depending on your time frame; and context - arts 

industry consultants can help put your survey results in context with 

industry trends and other comparable data. 

Working with professionals isn’t always easy. Too often, organizations hire 

researchers, receive reports, and never follow through on results. 

Consultants who take over a research project completely are not doing you 

a service; they should keep you informed every step of the way and seek 

input on all important decisions. Conversely, clients must be prepared to 

spend time with their consultants and feed them the information they need 

to do their job. Frequent communication from both sides is central to a successful client/consultant relationship. 

Levels of Assistance 

Before selecting a consultant or professional team, decide what level of 

assistance you’ll need. For arts participation surveys, outside assistance 

may be obtained in four general areas: 

1. research design (including survey and sample design) 

2. data collection (interviewing), coding, and entry 

3. data analysis and reporting 

4. interpretation of results and follow-up 

Depending on your research needs and project budget, you can hire one 

consultant to lead you through the entire study or break up the tasks 

between paid professionals, staff and volunteers. Maintaining consistency 

of oversight throughout the project is beneficial. However, if funds are not 
available, it may be possible to engage consultants in a limited capacity to 

"point you in the right direction," to train volunteer interviewers, or to 

review your efforts at critical points. 

Sources for Professional Assistance with Arts Participation Research 

~ii! Arts Consultants - A number of specialized consulting firms work exclusively or almost exclusively in the arts industry in the areas of marketing 

research, facility development, cultural planning, etc., and are highly qualified to provide a range of services in connection with an arts participation 

study. Services range from one-day workshops to multi-year projects including surveys, focus groups, and follow-up work. Contact a national service 

organization such as the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) 

or the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) for a list of consultants. A list of service organizations may be found in the appendix. 

Depending on the nature and purpose of the study, arts consultants may 

affiliate with other professionals to create a specialized research team. For 

example, a team led by arts consultants may also include a research field 

house (to collect data) and a marketing consultant (to develop creative 

strategies based on survey results). 

i~i~i~i~iii Colleges and Universities - Arts organizations located near colleges or 

universities can draw on the expertise of faculty members and/or graduate teaching assistants with experience in survey research. Business 

schools offering coursework in market research may be a resource, as well 

as sociology departments in larger institutions. Faculty members may be 

available as free-lance consultants, or students may be assigned to work 

on an arts participation survey as a class project. For example, the 

Center for User Surveys at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor provides low-cost assistance to local arts groups in conducting surveys. The 

Heinz School of Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University requires 

graduate students in arts management to work with Pittsburgh arts 

groups on a variety of projects including research. While collaborating 

with academics can be a cost-saving alternative to professional consultants, working within the school calendar may not be ideal, and the interpretation of data may be lacking in a broader, arts industry context. 
iiiii~i~i~ Local Marketing Firms - Advertising agencies or public relations firms 

based in your area also represent a resource for professional assistance 

with arts participation research. Such firms may offer in-house research 

services to their own clients or may have connections with outside 

research firms. Marketing executives are often well-versed in the 

technical aspects of research, and 

can offer valuable advice, particularly in translating survey results 

into creative marketing strategies. 

For this reason, professional marketers are well-placed on research 

committees. 

iiiiiilill Research Firms - Local or national research firms (companies which 

specialize in market research) can 

assist with all or part of an arts participation survey. These firms may 

be contracted to advise on survey 

and sample design, to conduct telephone interviews, to code and enter data in a statistical computer program, and to provide initial tabulations. Other professionals with arts COMPUTER ASSISTED 

TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING industry experience may be engaged to conduct further analyses of the (CATI) HELPS CONTROL THE data.13 INTERVIEW PROCESS. 

Selecting Consultants 

Public arts agencies often require a competitive selection process involving 

issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Proposals (RFP), appointment of a consultant selection committee, and a formal evaluation process. 

Although a competitive selection process can be cumbersome and time consuming, it is sometimes worthwhile - even when a formal process isn’t 

required - to obtain proposals from multiple sources, at least to see how 

13For a list of research vendors, consult your local Yellow Pages telephone directory under "Market Research & Analysis" 

or "Marketing Consultants." The American Marketing Association’s New York chapter publishes ~:~e]~9~, a 

national directory of marketing research companies and services, updated annually, at a cost of approximately $100. To 

order a copy, write AMA, 60 East 42nd St., Suite 1765, New York, NY 10165, telephone (212) 687-3280. 
different consultants approach your study and to get a sense of value for 

the various services proposed. For city-sponsored arts agencies or commissions, consultant selection may be handled through the city purchasing 

department according to established procedures. For private, non-profit 

agencies, a structured but less formal RFQ or RFP process may be 

appropriate.14 

~!~!~!~!~i! Issuing an RFP - A Request for Proposals is an invitation for interested 

professionals to prepare proposals - including a proposed scope of services 

and usually, but not always, a fee estimate for your project. In broad terms, 

an RFP should include: 

1. the goals of the study, including key issues and how the results will 

be used 

2. a situation description, including some history on how the project 

evolved to date and who is involved 

3. a description of the work to be performed, stated as specifically as 

possible, including reporting requirements and materials to be delivered 

4. what sort of a research team is envisioned, including professionals and 

volunteers (if any) 

5. the project time frame and any interim deadlines 

6. a description of how proposals will be evaluated 

7. a deadline for responding to the RFP 

8. a request for references (usually three) 

9. an approximate project budget or fee range (optional) 

Generally, proposals will be more relevant if you are able to provide definitive information about your project. Consultants and other professionals 

invest a great deal of time responding to RFPs. Although you are under no 

obligation to accept any of the proposals received (and should state so in 

the RFP), an RFP should not be issued unless funding has been approved 

for professional assistance. 

14For more information about selecting consultants, read How to Find and Work with Consultants (Or Minding Your 

RFPs and Qs) by Dr. Michael C. Hardy, Association of Performing Arts Presenters 1988 national conference proceedings; 

also refer to Laving a Firm Foundation by Robert Bailey and Steven Wolff, Inside Arts, July 1993, both available through 

Arts Presenters, 1112 16th St., N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC, 20036, telephone (202) 833-2787. 
!’~i~!i!i!’~ Issuing an RFQ - A Request for Qualifications 

(alternatively referred to as a Request for 

Quotations or a Request for Letters of Interest) is EVALUATION FACTORS 

an abbreviated RFP inviting interested profes- FOR AWARD 

sionals to submit their qualifications and 1. Technical Evaluation Criteria 

demonstrate an interest in the project.15 (45% - degree to which the proposal demonGenerally, RFQ’s are used for smaller projects for strates knowledge and experience with

research methods, data analysis, etc.; degree which a less formal selection process is appropri­ to which proposal demonstrates knowledge 

ate. In some cases a consultant is selected follow- of and experience with arts participation or 

ing review of RFQ submissions, and in other leisure activity research) 

cases the selection process moves on to a full- 2. Management Evaluation Criteria 

blown RFP. (40% - qualifications and availability of project personnel; management controls to 

insure appropriate coordination and timely :iiiiiiiiii Evaluating Proposals - Established criteria completion) 

should guide the consultant selection process. For 3. Price 

example, when the National Endowment for the (15% - is the proposed fee within a competiArts issued an RFP for the analysis of survey tive range?) 

data from the 1992 Survey of Public Participation Source: National Endowment for the Arts; adapted from 

RFP 92-01. in the Arts, established "evaluation factors" were 

included in the RFP (see inset). In less formal situations, compare proposals along these general parameters: 

1. Does the proposal demonstrate an understanding of your research goals? 

To what extent does the proposed scope of services address your specific 

needs? Does the proposal demonstrate knowledge and experience with 

research of this nature? 

2. How many different people would be assigned to work on your project? 

What are their qualifications, and have they worked together before? Who 

would be in charge? Who would actually do the work? What have references said about these people? 

3. How does the proposed fee relate to the proposed scope of services? What 

other expenses are involved? Large differences in fee quotes should be 

15In order to streamline the procurement of professional services, the National Endowment for the Arts issues "Requests 

for Quotations" (RFQs) for smaller research projects (up to $25,000) and RFPs for larger research projects (over $25,000). 
investigated carefully. Are they due to different approaches, assignment of 

senior vs. junior-level personnel, or different anticipated levels of effort? 

Are the proposed fees too high, or do you need to raise more money to 

accomplish your objectives? 

Experience has shown that the consultant selection process, whenever possible, should involve the people who will work most closely with the consultants, as well as those who will be most critical of the work to be done. 

~i~:~i Contracting - After a consultant has been selected, the scope of services 

should be finalized, and a contract should be drawn up specifying the 

terms and conditions of the consulting arrangement. The contract may be 

initiated by either party. 

METHODS OF COLLECTING ARTS 

PARTICIPATION DATA 

In practice, the "general population survey" is most commonly used for collecting arts participation data, and is the focus of this section. Other 

research methods - such as panels, secondary data analysis, focus group 

interviews, and observation studies 

- are used less frequently in arts 

participation research, although TRACKING LEISURE TRENDS 

interest in alternative methods is 

Arts participation is one of many types of leisure activi- growing (see inset). The impact of 

ties. One company called Leisure Trends, Inc. of lifestyle factors on arts attendance, 

Glastonbury (CT), in conjunction with the Gallup for example, is difficult to measure Organization, uses telephone interviewing to collect timeusing survey research exclusively. series data on leisure activities. 

For this reason, larger studies often 

Unlike some arts participation studies which ask respon­ employ multiple research methods, dents to recall the number of times they attended arts especially when qualitative infor­ programs over the past year (or month), Leisure Trends 

randomly interviews a limited number of adults each mation is needed. Based on your 

night, and asks how they used their leisure time the day research goals, consultants can 

before. advise you on the best overall 

Over time, results are used to track changes in approach for your study.

Americans’ use of leisure time and related subjects. 
SURVEY DATA COLLECTION METHODS FOR
 

ARTS PARTICIPATION RESEARCH 

In-Person Interviews Telephone Interviews 

Respondents are	 Respondents are called at 

interviewed in their homes, i home and interviewed over 

i the phone, 

~ 

In-home interviews can be The labor intensive nature 

cost-prohibitive since they	 of telephone interviewing 

require more time and	 makes it relatively more 

personnel costs than other	 expensive than other 

data collection methods.	 methods; difficult to use 

volunteers. 

Response rates for in-home	 Generally high response 

interviews are generally	 rates, although there is 

high. This is the major	 increasing resentment of 

attraction of in-home	 telephone research and a 

interviews.	 general trend towards rising 

refusal rates. 

A great deal of high High amount of control is 

quality data can be possible - interviewer can 

collected during in-person probe responses, clarify 

interviews. questions, etc.; sequence of 

questioning can be complex; 

studies can be completed 

quickly. 

Respondents are more	 Interviewers must be highly 

likely to provide "socially trained; limited interview 

acceptable" (biased) length; potential for sample 

responses when interviews bias is high (e.g., unlisted 

are conducted in person.	 numbers, not-at-home, etc.). 

Mail Surveys 

Respondents receive a printed questionnaire in the mail 

and are asked to complete the 

form and return it by mail. 

Costs include printing, 

postage and mailing, 

incentives (if any), as well as 

data coding and entry. Lower 

cost per survey, although 

cost per response may 

approach telephone surveys. 

Mail surveys initially may 

yield only 20% to 30% 

response rates, which can be 

increased with follow-up 

measures and use of 

incentives. 

Surveys can be completed at 

respondents’ leisure; time for 

more thoughtful response; no 

theoretical limit on survey 

length. 

There is no control over the 

respondent-response time, 

the order in which questions 

are answered, or even if the 

addressee is the person 

responding. 
Survey data may be collected in person, by telephone, or by mail. Each 

method has advantages, disadvantages, and different cost ramifications. 

The table on the previous page summarizes these three methods of collecting survey data. The 1982 and 1985 Surveys of Public Participation in the 

Arts (SPPAs) were administered primarily in person (sample sizes of 

17,254 and 13,675, respectively), whereas the 1992 SPPA was conducted 

primarily by telephone. All of the 12 Local Surveys (1992) were conducted 

by telephone. 

Other methods of collecting survey data include panels (pre-arranged 

groups of respondents who answer questions on a continuing basis), 

omnibus studies (ongoing studies in which a buyer can ask proprietary 

questions in the study), and completely self-administered surveys, where 

forms are distributed on an ad hoc basis and completed by respondents at 

their own initiative. 

Telephone interviewing has become the predominant method of collecting 

arts participation data, both nationally and locally, for a number of 

reasons. Researchers have developed very sophisticated methods of randomly selecting telephone numbers to call. One procedure, called "random 

digit dialing," ensures that both listed and unlisted telephone numbers are 

sampled. 

Also, with arts participation research, control over the sequence of questioning is important, as well as establishing the eligibility of a respondent 

within a given household (e.g., adult age 18+ with most recent birthday). 

Telephone interviewing allows for tight control of who responds to the 

survey. 16 

Despite its popularity, telephone interviewing has become increasingly 

problematic for researchers, evidenced by rising refusal rates. One frequently cited reason is the rise of telemarketing and the inability of many 

people to distinguish between surveys and sales calls. Two-thirds of 

16For a thorough review of different sampling procedures, read Survey Research Methods by Floyd J. Fowler, Jr., second 

edition, 1993. An excellent resource for detailed information about telephone surveying is Telephone Surve_v Methods: 

Sampling. Selection. and Supervision, by Paul J. Lavrakas, second edition, 1993. Both are available through SAGE 

Publications, 2455 Teller Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA, 91320, telephone (805) 499-9774. 
respondents to a 1992 survey 

believe that surveys and telemarketing are the same thing or "don’t 

know" if they are different.17 

"Intentional deceptions committed 

by some telemarketers may well 

contribute to the confusion." 

Further, the study concludes that 

the ability to differentiate between 

surveys and sales calls differs by 

age, education, and income, with 

refusal rates increasing with higher 

education and income levels. The 

implication for arts participation 

research would be a downward bias 

in participation rates, independent 

of other sources of bias (see next 

page). To offset this trend, interviewers rely increasingly on a 

strong survey introduction stating 

the purpose of the call and identifying the organization sponsoring the 

survey. 

The increased usage of telephone 

WHY PEOPLE TALK TO 

POLLSTERS 

A survey of 1,006 randomly-selected adults conducted by the ICR survey research group identified eight 

reasons why people participate in polls, typified by 

the following phrases: 

"I’m a nice person." About 25% of respondents 

consider it rude to turn down a respectful request 

for cooperation. 

"Timing is everything." No other pressing time 

commitments. (20%) 

"I’m nosy." (15%) 

"You have a lovely voice." (15%) 

"It was a great opportunity to share information." 

(11%) 

"I didn’t see any harm in it." (11%) 

"The questions were so interesting." (11%) 

"I’ve done this myself; I know what you’re going 

through." Empathy motivates about 10% of 

respondents to cooperate. 

Source: The reasons why people talk to Dotlster~, by Richard Morin, director of polling for the Washington Post. 

answering machines poses another problem for researchers, according to 

the same survey, with increasing numbers of people screening their calls. 

The study found that answering machine ownership increases significantly 

with higher income and education levels (66% ownership for those with 

incomes over $75,000 vs. 20% for those with income under $10,000) - representing another challenge to telephone researchers in obtaining a representative sample. 

17 "Rising Refusal Rates: The Impact of Telemarketing," by Todd Remington, Ouirks Marketing Research Review, May 1992. 
RESPONSE RATES AND BIAS 

Reliability of data is crucial to the success of an arts participation study. 

The best thought-out questions and the most high-powered analyses are 

meaningless without reliable data. Two related concepts impact the 

reliability of data collected through telephone surveys: response rates 

and potential sources of bias. Both are discussed below. As part of the 

research design process, the sponsoring organization should set clear 

expectations for: 

acceptable response rates - at what point will you reject the data? 

what follow-up methods will be used to increase response rates - how 

many return calls will be made? can respondents reschedule interviews 

at their convenience? 

how the data will be tested for bias - in what way are respondents 

different than non-respondents? 

how bias will be corrected - what statistical adjustments or 

resurveying efforts will be made? 

Understanding these concepts and setting high standards for your 

researchers will increase the value of your data and establish the credibility of your research project. Conclusions based on unreliable data do not 

add value to a decision-making process. Consider, for example, the longterm problems resulting from over-built arts facilities based on faulty 

research data.is 

Response Rates for Telephone Surveys 

Maximizing response rates is a critical task. In order to understand why, 

consider the following illustration. A telephone survey of 500 randomlyselected households yields 400 completed interviews - a response rate of 

80%. An identical survey of 1,200 households yields 480 completed interviews - a response rate of 40%. All other things being equal, which data 

set is more reliable? 

lSFor an excellent and straightforward discussion on response rates, sample representativeness, and bias from refusals, 

read Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method, by Don A. Dillman, published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 

1978 (ISBN 0-471-21555-4). 
Although the first sample is 

smaller, it is more representative of the population being ILLUSTRATION OF RESPONSE RATES 

surveyed. If you are successful 

Total Calls ............................ 1,028 ..... (124%) in completing interviews with Disconnected/non-working # ..........34
 

80% of selected households, Busy/no answer/machine ............165 

then your sample will be very Answered Calls .........................829 ..... (100%) 

similar to the population as a 

Non-residential # ...................69 whole. Conversely, if only 40% Eligible respondent never available .... 52
 

of a sample responds to the sur- Termination (language barrier) .........
 8 

vey, the final sample may have Termination (refusal) ...............298 

Completed Interviews ...................402 ..... (49%)
 little in common with the population being studied. As the 

response rate declines, chances grow that the group of respondents will be 

different than the group of non-respondents. In arts participation survey 

data, for example, it is not unusual to find higher education levels among 

respondents compared to the population being studied.19 

The pathway to a completed telephone interview can be cut off in many 

places. Professional researchers have established procedures for minimizing the number of incomplete interviews, although some factors are outside of their control. Many factors influence completion or "cooperation" 

rates, including the survey subject matter, interview length, respondent 

eligibility requirements, and even the geography being sampled. According 

to Blankenship and Breen, 

"It is generally accepted that for minimal dependability of
 

results, at least 50 percent to 60 percent of those designated
 

as potential respondents should end up being
 

questioned. "2o
 

Other researchers set different response thresholds, some higher and some 

lower. However, any researcher claiming that a 35% response rate for a 

19For an illustration of this phenomenon, see Table 8 in the appendix of Summary_ Report: 12 Local Studies of Public
 

Participation in the Art.~, Research Division Report #16, National Endowment for the Arts, 1993.
 

2°State of the Art Marketin~ Research, A.B. Blankenship and George Edward Breen, 1993, published by NTC Business
 

Books in conjunction with the American Marketing Association.
 
general population survey is acceptable without qualification should be 

highly suspect. To illustrate the range of outcomes from random telephone 

sampling, consider the results from a 1993 local arts participation survey 

(see inset from previous page). 

Two different problems must be addressed to maximize response rates for 

telephone surveys. The researcher must first gain access to the selected 

individuals, and then enlist their cooperation. Several tactics may be used: 

Make numerous calls, concentrating on evenings and weekends. Some
 

researchers make up to 10 calls to a household before giving up. There is
 

no substitute for persistence in reaching a targeted respondent.
 

Arrange for interviewers with flexible schedules who can make appointments at any time that is convenient to respondents.
 

Articulate the purpose of the research and convince the respondent that
 

their help is important.
 

Assure the confidentiality of responses.
 

For the 1992 national Survey of Public Participation in the 

Arts, less than 20% of all eligible respondents in selected 

SURVEY EXCERPT households could not be interviewed, yielding a completion 

Q. How are you most likely to learn rate of over 80%. Approximately three-quarters of all inter­ about live performing arts programs 

that are of interest to you? [RECORD views were conducted by telephone, with the balance conduct- FIRST THREE ANSWERS] ed face-to-face in respondents’ homes. Other factors [PROBE] Any other sources of information about performing arts pro­ contributing to the high cooperation rate included the fact grams? 

that the survey was part of an omnibus panel study conducted 

by the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning that pre-selected respondents had 

previously agreed to participate in an on-going study. 

In contrast, significantly lower response rates were achieved for the 12 

Local Studies conducted the same year. In this case, all interviews were 

conducted by telephone using random digit dialing. Response rates 

ranged from a low of 40% (Dade County, FL) to a high of 52% (rural 

Nevada). The gap between response rates for these national and local 

studies illustrates the complex relationship between the approach to data 

collection, sample design, and response rates. 
Potential Sources of "Bias" 

Along with the convenience of collecting data by telephone come a number
 

potential difficulties in achieving unbiased results. "Bias" can result from
 

sample design errors (e.g., a ’random’ sampling technique that isn’t really
 

random), or from procedural problems (e.g., interviewers who influence
 

responses, or a poorly-worded questionnaire). In data collected through
 

telephone interviews, some forms of bias are unavoidable, but can be corrected through a statistical procedure known as weighting.
 

Arts administrators need not learn the involved concepts and technical jargon associated with survey bias. However, an awareness of the most common
 

sources of bias will be helpful in communicating with your research team:
 

Non-Response Bias. For a variety of reasons, many interviews are never 

completed. In addition to factors which are outside the control of either 

party (e.g., busy signals, eligible respondent not at home, reaching a nonresidential number), potential interview subjects often refuse to take the 

survey or terminate the interview prematurely. Three common causes of 

non-response bias are: 

Simple Refusal - a respondent may be unable, unwilling, or.too busy to 

complete the call, regardless of the survey subject matter or persistence 

of the interviewer. 

Self-Selection - occurs when a potential respondent decides to terminate the call, perhaps because of a lack of interest in the survey subject 

matter. With arts participation surveys, a higher cooperation rate from 

actual arts participants may be experienced, compared to non-participants. 

This type of non-response bias can be very difficult to avoid or to correct. 

A carefully worded survey introduction can minimize this problem.21 

Termination Due to Language Barrier - Unless multi-lingual interviewers 

are available, potential respondents may hang up due to a language 

barrier. Survey results may then under-represent certain non-English 

21Hebert Research Inc., a market research firm based in Bellevue, Washington, began a 1993 local arts participation survey with the following introduction: "Hello, my name is __o and I’m a research assistant with an independent firm 

working for the City of ~. We are conducting research about leisure activities in your area. This call is for research purposes only and does not involves sales or fundraising of any kind. I can assure you that your individual answers will 

remain strictly confidential. This survey will take approximately 10 minutes. May I please ask you some questions?" 
speaking populations. In the case of arts participation levels, overstated 

figures may result. Statistical weighting procedures can help to counteract 

this effect, although the best solution is to have multi-lingual interviewers. 

Non-Coverage of Households Without Telephones. By definition, 

households without telephones are excluded from the sample. Some 

researchers claim that the primary distinction between households with 

and without telephones is income.22 Arts participation research has shown 

that individuals with lower incomes are less likely to be arts attenders. 

Thus, arts participation rates tend to be overstated due to the absence of 

households without telephones in the sample. 

Ultimately, it is virtually impossible to remove all types of bias from your 

survey data. Professional researchers, however, can advise you on the most 

appropriate ways to minimize bias, including statistical adjustments and 

resurveying a sample of nonrespondents. 

SAMPLE DESIGN ISSUES 

Sample design is the process of defining who is eligible to be interviewed 

for your study. Since you cannot interview everyone in your community 

about arts participation, it is necessary to draw a sample from the population about which you are interested. The "sample frame" is the set of people that has a chance of being selected, given the sampling approach 

taken. For example, one of the 12 Local Surveys conducted in 1992 used a 

sample frame defined as "...all adults, age 18+, residing in Allegheny 

County, Pennsylvania." 

When results are to be generalized to a larger population, then a "random 

sample" must be obtained - where each person within the sample frame 

has an equal, known chance of being interviewed. Achieving a sample that 

is representative of the population being studied is essential to the utility 

and credibility of survey results. Several key parameters of sample design 

follow. 

22The source for this observation is NuStats, Inc., a market research firm based in Austin, Texas. 
Geography and Other Eligibility Requirements 

Defining a geography to be sampled is an important first step in designing 

an arts participation study. Definitions of commonly-used geography units 

are included in the appendix. For a local area survey, the geography to be 

sampled may be: 

a city or group of cities (municipal boundaries) 

a county or group of counties 

a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 

one or more ZIP codes (postal-defined geographies) 

the area covered by one or more telephone exchanges 

The purpose of your study will largely determine the geography to be sampled. If, for example, your survey is to assess public opinion on arts-related 

issues in connection with an upcoming election, your geography may be 

limited to political boundaries. A study related to arts facility planning 

may sample from an area including all communities within a 60-minute 

drive of the proposed facility. For general arts participation surveys, the 

area to be studied should be large enough to encompass an entire "arts 

community" - an area within which the local supply of arts programs and 

facilities relates directly to arts participation patterns. 

Telephone exchanges do not always relate to census or postal-defined geographies such as cities or ZIP codes. Therefore, it may be necessary to 

screen prospective interview subjects by geography - narrowing the definition of eligible respondents. Generally, additional costs are incurred as the 

definition of eligible respondents gets narrower, since more calls need to be 

made to achieve the desired sample size. 

Other eligibility requirements can be imposed to further define the population being sampled. Typically, respondents must be adults (age 18+). Also, 

to ensure random selection within each household, the adult with the most 

recent birthday can be designated as the sole eligible respondent. 
Determining Sample Size 

Determining the best sample size for your study is an important decision 

involving trade offs between cost, statistical reliability, and other factors. 

Strictly speaking, the sample is the number of persons from whom 

responses are sought. If everyone who is called responds to the telephone 

survey, then the sample size equals the number of respondents. Since this 

is almost never possible, there is an essential distinction between the ’sample size’ and the ’number of completed interviews’ or ’N’. Still, researchers 

commonly refer to the number of completed interviews as the "sample 

size," without discussing response rates, follow-up procedures, or bias. 

As the size of your sample grows, so might the cost of your study, since 

more calls need to be made to achieve a larger amount of data. However, a 

larger sample size will be subject to lower sampling error rates. In contrast, a smaller sample size might cost less to collect, but results will be 

subject to higher sampling error rates. Much depends on the purpose of 

your study and how the data are to be used. 

Each of the 12 local arts participation studies conducted in 1992 targeted 

the number of respondents at 400, even though the populations being sampled ranged in size from Sedona, Arizona (1990 population = 15,500) to 

metropolitan Chicago (population 7.26 million).23 A review of other local 

studies shows a range of respondent pools between 200 and 600. 

Requesting price quotations for different sized data sets can be informative. For recent national studies of arts participation, the number of 

respondents varied widely: 

STUDY SAMPLE SIZE 

12,736
 

1985 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (Arts Endowment) ............................


1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (Arts Endowment) ............................


13,675
 

1982 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (Arts Endowment) ...........................
 17,254
 

National Cultural Alliance 1992 Public Opinion Survey ......................................
 1,059
 

1992 "Americans and the Arts VI" (directed by Louis Harris) ..................................
 1,500 

23At the request of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, an additional 200 interviews were conducted in areas of 

Philadelphia in order to obtain a sufficiently large subset of data for special analyses of arts participation among the Black 

and Hispanic populations. 
Targeting an appropriate number of respondents is of strategic importance 

to the outcome of your study. Consultants or researchers may suggest an 

appropriate number, but the decision is ultimately up to management ­

based on precision requirement, cost, and other factors. 

How Precise Is Your Data? 

A certain amount of variation in your survey results is due to random error. 

This is because survey results can only estimate the true results from a census of the entire population. In research reports, "margins of error" are often 

noted simply as "plus or minus 4%," etc. These figures are calculated based 

on sample size, the observation being testing, and the desired level of confidence. It is not necessary to understand the statistical concepts underlying 

these calculations in order to interpret them correctly. A standard error table 

is included in the Appendix, and an illustration is provided below. 

INTERPRETING MARGINS OF ERROR 

A 1992 study of arts participation patterns in rural Nevada revealed a 10% participation rate 

for classical music. In other words, of the 400 adults surveyed, 10% reported attending at 

least one live classical music performance over the past 12 months. How accurate was this 

estimate of the true participation rate for all adults in rural Nevada? 

Assume that you wish to evaluate this finding at the 95% level of confidence. This means 

that you want to be 95% sure that the true participation rate (for all adults) falls within a 

certain range around the sample statistic (10%). 

In the "Standard Error" table in your research report, you find that for a sample size of 400 

and a sample statistic of 10%, the confidence interval is 3%. 

Thus, the true participation rate for classical music lies within a range of 3% above or below 

10%. In sum, you can say: 

"The rate of participation in classical music for all adults in rural Nevada was 

estimated to be between 7% and 13%, at the 95% level of confidence." 

Put another way, if you conducted that same study repeatedly, you could expect a classical 

music participation rate between 7% and 13% ninety-five times out of a hundred. 

The margin of error does not account for various sources of bias which might be present in 

your survey data (see earlier discussion in this chapter covering "bias"). 
Two Types of Random Sampling 

Another important design parameter is what type of random sample to 

use. The two types of random sampling most commonly used in local arts 

participation surveys are "straight" and "stratified" random sampling. 

~ii Straight Random Sampling - the sample is drawn randomly from a list 

of the entire population. Since not all adults live in households with telephones, simple random sampling by telephone has inherent limitations. 

Statistical weighting procedures for key demographic variables (i.e., age, 

race, and income) are often used to help correct this problem. 

~ii~i~i Stratified Random Sampling - the sample is divided into one or more 

sub-groups (e.g., age groups, geographical areas, ethnic groups) based on 

the known characteristics of the population being sampled. Then random 

samples are chosen from each sub-group. This type of random sampling is 

desirable when certain sub-groups or "cells" within the population being 

studied are of special interest, and you want to ensure that your raw data 

are representative of these sub-groups. 

For example, suppose that 35% of the population of an area being studied 

is of Hispanic origin, according to census figures. If the desired sample size 

is 500, a stratified sample may be designed consisting of 65% (or 325) nonHispanic respondents and 35% (or 175) Hispanic respondents. Random 

sampling continues until these targets are met. The resulting data would 

reflect the known incidence of Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals in 

the population under study. 

In arts participation surveys, a stratified sampling approach can be more 

costly or time-consuming than a straight approach since it may be necessary to make additional calls to meet the targeted response levels. This is 

especially true for population sub-groups which are less likely to be found 

in households with telephones. Several of the 12 local studies conducted in 

1992 employed a stratified sampling approach: 
SITE STRATIFIED SAMPLING APPROACH 

Pittsburgh/Allegheny County Total sample of 400 was drawn equally from two geographies, 

the City of Pittsburgh and the balance of Allegheny County, 

so that results from the two areas could be compared. 

Dade County, Florida Dade County was sub-divided into two sub-areas, one 

consisting of telephone exchanges with a high concentration 

of minority populations, the other consisting of all remaining 

telephone exchanges. The total sample size of 400 was split 

between those two sub-areas proportional to their respective 

populations. 

Philadelphia Metro Area 

(7 counties in PA and NJ) 

Three sub-areas were defined for this study, as follows: 

1. All counties in the Philadelphia MSA except Philadelphia 

(200 completed interviews) 

2. Telephone exchanges within Philadelphia with a high 

concentration of minority population (300 interviews) 

3. All remaining telephone exchanges within Philadelphia 

(100 interviews) 

The total sample size was 600. 

Source: Summary Reoort: 12 Local Studies of Public Participation in the Art.~= 

SURVEY DESIGN ISSUES 

The purpose and goals of your study should drive the survey design 

process. A well-designed questionnaire will lead the interview subject 

through a logical progression of survey topics and questions, eliciting unbiased responses and high-quality data. The primary challenges of designing an arts participation survey include: 

using questions that relate directly to your information needs 

deciding how much data to collect about each topic 

constructing the questions properly to avoid bias 

choosing the best response options (e.g., scaled responses, rankings) 

limiting the interview to a manageable length 

The technical aspects of survey design can get very involved. If you choose 

to develop your own questionnaire, read about survey design in an appropriate text, and ask a research professional to review a draf~ of your survey for content, wording, flow, etc. If professional researchers are drafting 
your questionnaire, your careful review of the form is essential. An understanding of survey design issues related to arts participation topics will 

increase the quality of your input.24 

Approaches to Survey Design 

To begin designing a survey, refer back to your research case statement, 

which should articulate what the survey is supposed to accomplish. This 

may include hypotheses that you wish to test, such as "our community is 

supportive of public funding for a new arts center," and a list of what needs 

to be measured to accomplish the goals of your survey. Such a list might 

include "frequency of attendance," "reasons for attending arts programs," 

and "attitudes about arts education." Then, prepare an analysis plan for 

each area of inquiry or "survey module," including definition of: 

~!! Dependent Variables - variables for which numbers, percentages and 

averages are to be estimated, such as "number of times attended a jazz performance," or agreement or disagreement with an opinionated statement. 

In its 1995 arts participation survey, the San Antonio Department of Arts 

and Cultural Affairs measured respondents’ likelihood of using an arts 

information telephone line: 

Q:If there was a central telephone number that you could call 

24-hours a day to find out about upcoming arts and cultural events, 

would you be ~ ~, somewhat ~, not ~ ~, or ~ at 

all ~ to use such a service? 

Source: San Antonio Department of Arts & Cultural Affairs/AMS Planning & Research. 

i~i~i~i~i~i Independent Variables - variables which are needed to explain or predict 

other variables. For example, demographic variables such as age, income, 

and education are often used to explain arts participation. The National 

Cultural Alliance, in its 1992 public opinion survey, asked a series of questions relating to perceived value and relevancy of the Arts and Humanities, 

which were used to help explain art participation patterns: 

24 A theoretical approach to survey design is outlined in How to Conduct Surveys: A Stev-bv-Stev Guide, by Arlene Fink 

and Jacqueline Kosecoff, 1985, available through SAGE Publications, 2455 Teller Rd., Thousand Oaks, CA 91320, telephone (805) 499-9774. For an overview of arts-related survey design issues, read Surveying Your Arts Audience, the 1985 

Arts Endowment Research Division Manual, pages 13-23. 
 

Q:The arts and humanities are 

considered to include the 

visual arts, such as painting 

and sculpture; literature; 

the performing arts or 

theatre, dance and music; 

and philosophy, history, and 

languages. Would you say 

the arts and humanities 

play a ~ role in oy_q~ 

life, a minor role, or no role 

at all? 

Source: National Cultural Alliance/Research 

& Forecasts, Inc. 

~i~i~i~i~i~ Variables with Other Functions ­

additional variables may serve to 

check out competing hypotheses 

or to verify the consistency of 

responses. 

Floyd Fowler, Jr., in his book 

Survey Research Methods, recommends this basic approach to survey design, which may be followed 

by experienced researchers and 

first-timers alike. 

Although there are many combinations of survey topics and infinite 

variations of specific questions, it 

is not necessary to design every 

arts participation survey from 

scratch. Questionnaires developed 

by the Arts Endowment and other 

agencies contain large numbers of 

DEFINITIONS OF "CORE" ARTS
 

ACTIVITIES
 

Jazz Respondents are allowed to 

define jazz in their own way. 

May include blues, soul, R&B, etc. 

Classical music	 Includes symphony, chamber music, 

choral music, and instrumental or 

vocal recitals 

Opera	 An opera is a drama set to music
 

and made up of vocal pieces.
 

Excludes operettas
 

Musicals	 Musical-dramatic productions 

consisting of musical numbers and 

spoken dialogue based on a unifying 

plot. Includes "Broadway musical" 

and "musical comedies" 

Plays	 A non-musical stage play is a 

theatrical production consisting of 

spoken dialogue 

Ballet	 A theatrical art form using ballet i 

dancing (dancing in which 

conventional poses and steps are 

used), music, and scenery to convey 

a story, theme, or atmosphere 

Other dance	 Includes modern dance, folk, tap,
 

and other dance such as clogging,
 

and traditional/ethnic dance
 

Art museum/ Attendance at museums or galleries 

gallery that display or sell original works of 

Other Arts Activities 

Arts/crafts Includes events where arts or crafts 

fair/festival i are demonstrated or for sale 

Movie theatre	 Attendance at a cinema/movie

i theatre 

Historic	 Includes any historic park or 

park/site	 monument, as well as any building 

or neighborhood the respondent 

visited for its historical value or 

architectural design 

Source: National Endowment for the Arts. 
questions which can be used verbatim or adapted for use in a new survey. Although it is not possible to replicate large numbers of survey 

questions in this guide, a reproduction of the 1992 SPPA questionnaire 

is included in the Appendix. 

"Core" Questions 

Questions about arts participation are necessarily part of an arts participation survey, as defined in this guide. Although a wide range of additional topics may be included, certain "core" questions may be used to 

measure participation in key arts activities (see inset on previous page). It 

is not suggested that all arts participation surveys should be standardized 

or even limited to the topics discussed in this guide. However, the inclusion of topics and/or questions which have been tested and analyzed 

extensively in the body of research on arts participation is generally recommended, for several reasons. Using previously-tested questions may 

help you avoid costly design errors and save time and money. Also, you 

may turn to published reports for ideas on how to structure your analysis 

of the data. 

Using questions from other surveys does not ensure that your data will be 

comparable. Differences in sample design may prevent you from making 

direct comparisons. In fact, unless the surveys, sample frames, and methods of collecting data are nearly identical, it is not possible to make a direct 

comparison of results across the studies. However, it is possible to gain 

context from other studies by looking at general trends between data sets. 

Professional researchers can advise you on the comparability of your survey results with other studies. 

Interview Length 

One of the greatest challenges in designing a survey is limiting its length. 

Generally, the maximum duration of a telephone interview should be 12 to 

15 minutes, beyond which it becomes increasingly difficult to keep respondents on the phone without an advance commitment. All telephone surveys 

should be pre-tested for average completion time and to uncover designrelated problems. If it becomes necessary to edit your survey down to a 
reasonable length, return to your research case statement for guidance in 

prioritizing your information needs. 

It is not always necessary to ask all respondents the same questions, if 

your sample size is large enough. To broaden the scope of your survey it 

may be possible to divide the sample into two or more subgroups and ask 

certain questions on a rotating basis. For example, if your sample size is 

600, certain "core" questions may be asked of all respondents, followed by 

different groups of questions for the first 300 respondents and the second 

300 respondents. 

Overview of Arts Participation Survey Topics 

To stimulate the survey design process, topics from a variety of arts participation studies have been compiled and are presented over the following 

pages. By no means exhaustive, this list of survey topics includes subjects 

covered in the 1992 SPPA and a number of other local and national studies. 

When applicable, topics are referenced with their respective question numbers in the 1992 SPPA and 12 Local Area Arts Participation Surveys 

(LAAPS) survey forms. 

TOPIC: ATTENDANCE AT ARTS PERFORMANCES/EVENTS 

Arts 

Participation 

Rates 

Participation rates are measured for certain types of 

arts activities (e.g., live performances, art exhibitions, 

literature), over a given time period - typically the 

SPPA92:Q1-13 

LAAPS: Ql-13 

preceding 12 months. Eight "core" arts activities defined 

by the Arts Endowment include jazz, opera, classical music, 

musical theatre, plays, ballet, other dance, and art 

museums/galleries. Participation in other ar~s disciplines 

or sub-disciplines such as "traditional/ethnic dance" may 

be also queried. 

Frequency of 

Participation 

The number of times the respondent participated in a 

specified arts activity over a given time period. SPPA92:Q1-20 

LAAPS: Q1-14 

Participation 

through 

Broadcast and 

Measures rates of exposure to various arts disciplines 

via television/video and radio/recordings. SPPA92:Q14-20 

LAAPS: Q14-16 

Recorded Media 

Venues 

Attended 

Respondents are asked what type(sl of facility they most 

recently attended. In local studies, actual venue LAAPS: Q1-7 

names may be used. 
 

TOPIC: PERSONAL PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS 

Respondents are asked about their avocational i SPPA92:Q23-36 

involvement in various arts activities, such as: 

iiiiiiiii~ Making pottery/ceramics/jewelry, etc. 

ii~i~i~iii Weaving/quilting/crocheting/sewing, etc. 

i i;iiiiii Film/video/photography (as art) 

~ i~i~iiii Painting/drawing/sculpture/printmaking i i;iiiiiiii Creative ~ting 

i i~i::i~i::i~ Music composition 

iii/iiiii Own pieces of art ~ iiiiiiii!i Musician (various disciplines) ~ ::~i::i:::: Dancer (ballet or other dance) 

Art Classes To examine how people learn about and participate SPPA92:Q38-45 

and Lessons in the arts through classes and lessons, respondents 

are asked if they receive instruction in any of several 

disciplines, either as adults, or when they were children. 

ToPic: PARTICIPATION IN OTHER LEISURE ACTIVITIES 

Frequency of In order to assess how arts participation relates to other SPPA92: Q22a-j ~ Participation in leisure activities, respondents may be asked about
 

Other Leisure their participation (or their children’s about activities as:
 

Activities ~::~ Watching television (number of hours per day)
 

~:.iil Going to the movies 

~i~ Attending amateur or professional sports events 

~:iii=~!==i~ Amusement parks, carnivals, etc. 

~ii: Exercising, or playing sports 

i~i::i::i::~ Outdoor activities (gardening, camping, hiking, etc.) 

iiiiiiiil Volunteer or charity work 

~ Home improvement 

TOPIC: COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION 

Sources of i Respondents are asked how they learn about about arts LAAPS: Q21
 

Information events (or a specific program), usually on an unaided
 

about Arts basis. Sources may include direct mail, print media, radio,
 

Events television, telemarketing, word-of-mouth, etc. Alternately,
 

respondents may be asked how influential each source 

is to their decision to attend, using a scaled response. 

Media Usage In local studies, readership of local newspapers and i LAAPS: Q21A-H 

~ magazines can be measured, as well as which radio 

stations and television channels are used. 

Adequacy of Satisfaction with the availability of information about LAAPS: Q22 

Arts Information arts events may also be measured. 

Aided and On local surveys, respondents may be asked to name the ~ various local 

Unaided i local arts programs or organizations that come to mind, on ~ surveys 

Awareness ~ an unaided and/or aided basis. These data are particularly 

Levels ! useful to individual arts groups, and may also point to 

~ community-wide communication and information issues. 
TOPIC: ATTITUDES & OPINIONS ABOUT THE ARTS
 

Interest in 

Attending 

More Often 

Evaluates what types of programs respondents would like 

to attend more often, and which of these they would like 

do the the most~ Separate questions may measure interest

in culturally-specific programs. 

SPPA92:Q21 

LAAPS: Q17-18 

Reasons for 

Not Attending 

Often called "barriers to participation," this survey topic 

was included in the 1982 and 1985 SPPAs. The 1992 LAAPS: Q18 

More Often SPPA did not include this topic but the 12 Local Studies 

queried such reasons as cost, lack of time, transportation 

problems, safety concerns, etc. 

Reasons for 

Attending 

Arts Events 

As an alternative to studying barriers to participation, 

some researchers are focusing on reasons why people do 

surveys attend arts events, such as "to be with friends," 

various local 

surveys 

"for intellectual stimulation," and other reasons. 

Importance 

of the Arts 

Attitudes about the importance of the arts in general or 

about the importance of the arts in education are measured. LAAPS: Q19-20 

Opinions on 

Arts and 

Related Issues 

Respondents may be asked their opinions on a variety of artsrelated issues, such as public funding for the arts (or surveys 

a specific arts project), the importance of arts’in-education, 

various local 

surveys 

perceived need for additional arts facilities~ and other issues. 

One approach is to measure respondents’ agreement/ 

disagreement with a series of opinionated statements. 

TOPIC: ANTICIPATED BEHAVIOR & PREFERENCES 

Likelihood of In local surveys, respondents may be asked their various local Attending Arts likelihood of attending an existing or proposed arts surveys Programs facility or program, or their desire to participate in arts 

classes, etc. This line of questioning is most often used 

" in surveys related to arts facility development and 

cultural planning. 

An alternate line of questioning relates interest in 

attending a specific type of arts activity to anticipated 

attendance, to study the gap between interest and behavior. 

Music Preferences Respondents are read a list of types of music and asked SPPA92:Q37 to what extent they enjoy listening to each, and which 

they enjoy most. Over 20 types of music were listed in 

the 1992 SPPA, ranging from opera to rap music. 
 

TOPIC: RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS
 

Age	 all surveys i Respond%n~ are ask, ed their age or age group using 

i Predefied~ cohorts. When age cohorts are used for data 

i collection or analysis, it is often useful to use U.S. 

i Census-defined cohorts so that survey results can be 

i compared to census figures for the sampled geography. 

!	 Census Bureau definitions of cohorts for selected 

demographic v~ables are included in the Appendix. 

i all surveys 

and Cultural raceYethnicity data using cohorts defied by the Census

Identity 

cultural identity of respondents may design additional i 

questions to address issues such as multi-cultural i households, languages spoken, family immigration ~ 

i	 history, and self-defied cultural identity independent 

of race or nationality. i 

Household i Total household income includes income from employment all surveys 

Income i and other sources for all household members. 

Number of In some cases, it may be useful to collect household size ! all surveys 

Children in data broken down by age group, especially children ages 

Household 0-5, 6-12, and 13-17, etc. 

Occupation and i Occupation and employment status data can offer insight all surveys 

Employment i in combination with other demographic variables, for 

Status i example, in exploring arts participation patterns of 

working mothers, etc. [reference standard categories]. 

Owner.Occupied i Allows distinction between renters and property owners, all surveys 

Housing Status 

Geography ~ Respondents may be asked to identify their home ZIP various surveys, 

Code or other geography to verify that eligibility local and national 

 ̄ requirements were met and to facilitate data analysis 

~ for geographical sub-areas. 

Residency Status i Researchers may seek to identify seasonal residents in ~ local area surveys 

only order to qualify arts participation questions as relating 

: to local activity only. ~ 
 

TOPIC: BUYER BEHAVIOR
 

Purchase 

Decision.Maker 

~ Respondents are asked to identify who usually 

i selects the arts events that they attend (e.g., friends, 

! spouse, joint decision, etc.). Buyer behavior questions 

’ are frequently used in audience surveys, but may also 

be included in community surveys to measure 

various local 

surveys 

general trends. 

Method of 

Purchase I 

i 

Preferences for purchasing tickets at the box office, 

by telephone, or by marl can be measured and are 

frequently correlated to demographic characteristics. 

various local 

surveys 

~ 

Timing of 

Purchase 

Surveys may test the hypothesis that different groups 

of .a~ts patrons have different planning horizons and

can be segmented according to how far in advance 

i various local 

i surveys

~ 

they typically purchase tickets. 

Type of Tickets 

Purchased It may be useful to identify respondents who have 

purchased subscription or series tickets in the past 

various local 

surveys 

year. 

Pre-Testing 

The final draft of an arts participation survey should be pre-tested on 20 to 

50 eligible respondents under conditions approximating actual data collection. The primary reasons for pre-testing a telephone survey are: 

to assess average interview length and make adjustments to the survey 

as necessary 

to check that the questions are easy for interviewers to read and for 

respondents to understand 

to see if respondents can answer questions accurately. Problems may be 

indicated when respondents ask for clarification or provide initial 

answers that require probing. 

One advantage of telephone surveys is that the questionnaire can be 

edited up until the moment that data collection begins. Pre-test results 

should be reviewed by the research team and changes made to the 

questionnaire as necessary. With such large sums at stake, survey pretesting is a relatively small investment in assuring high-quality results 

and avoiding costly errors. 
PREPARING DATA FOR ANALYSIS 

Data coding is the process of assigning values or codes to survey responses 

to facilitate statistical analysis. Data entry is the process of entering survey data into a computer file for subsequent analysis. Whether or not you 

have data coding and entry to do depends on how data was recorded during the telephone interviews. Generally, if your data was collected by a 

commercial research firm, data coding and entry will be done for you. A 

commonly-used technique called "computer-assisted telephone interviewing" (CATI) automates the data coding and entry process. 

Manual data coding and entry is a time-consuming project, especially 

when open-ended questions were included in the survey. Even if your data 

was collected on paper forms, coding and entry can be sub-contracted commercially at a very reasonable cost, with or without subsequent analysis. 

Ideally, data should be entered into a computer program that will run tabulations, cross-tabulations, and other statistical procedures. At a minimum, enter your survey data into a commonly-used spreadsheet or 

database program, most of which have some statistical analysis 

capabilities. 

ANALYSIS AND REPORTING 

The amount of time and energy devoted to data analysis and reporting ­

the process of understanding your results - will heavily impact the overall 

success of your research effort. At one extreme, consultants may analyze 

your data, make a final presentation and help you develop a plan to act on 

survey results. At the other extreme, data may be analyzed by a staff 

member or student researcher using whatever tools are available. 

Regardless of the level of assistance with data analysis and reporting, a 

familiarity with basic statistical analysis procedures will enhance your 

understanding of what can be done with your arts participation data.25 

25A straightforward discussion of data analysis and reporting may be found in Surve_ving Your Arts Audience, Arts 

Endowment Research Division Manual, 1985, pages 57-65. The general principles behind summarizing survey results are 

covered in Blankenship and Breen’s State of the Art Marketin~ Research, 1993, pages 249-290. 
Analyzing Single Variables 

The first step in analyzing data from an arts participation survey is tabulating responses to each question and computing useful statistics including 

percentages and averages: 

iiiiiiii~i Percentages - the number of responses in a given category divided by the 

total number of valid responses. For example: 

Q: In general, how important is it to you to be able to attend or to take part in arts 

activities and events? Would you say it is... 

RESPONSE Frequency % Valid % Cum % 

very important 98 24.4 24.9 24.9 

somewhat important 203 50.7 51.6 76.5 

not at all important 92 22.9 23.5 100.0 

don’t know/refused 8 2.0 missing 

TOTAL SAMPLE 401 100.0 

Source: San Jose area arts participation survey, 1992. 

In this example, several percentages are computed: the response 

percentage (which accounts for all response options), the valid percentage 

(excludes missing cases and "don’t knows" from the total sample size), and 

cumulative percentage (the running total of percentages on a continuous 

scale). 

i~ii~ Averages - what statisticians call measures of central tendency, come in 

three forms: the mean (the sum total of values divided by the number of 

cases), the median (the middle case in a series - half fall above the median and half fall below), and the mode (the most frequent response). All 

three figures have a different meaning in the example on the following 

page: 
  ̄ RESPONSE SCALE Frequency % Vahd % Cum. ~~ 

35 ...... 12.4 12.4
 

1 12 4.0 4.2 16.6
 

2 7 2.3 2.8 19.1
 

3 16 5.3 5.6 24.7
 

4 9 3.0 3.2 27.9
 

5 58 19.3 20.5 48.4
 

6 6 5.3 5.6 54.1
 

7 27 9.0 9.5 63.6
 

8 19 6.3 6.7 70.3
 

9 21 7.0 7.4 77.7
 

10 - very likely 63 21.0 22.3 100.0
 

don’t know/refused 17 5.6
 

TOTAL SAMPLE 300 

Source: Anchorage (AK) cultural planning survey, 1993. 

In this example, the mean response is 5.85. The mean was calculated by 

multiplying each number on the scale by its respective number of responses, summing these figures, and then dividing by the total number of valid 

responses: 

Calculation of the Mean 

(0 x 35)+(1 x 12)+(2 x 7)+(3 x 16)... = 1,656 

1,656 divided by 283 valid responses = 5.85 

Thus, on a scale of 0 to 10 (with 5 = average likelihood of making a contribution), respondents indicated a higher than average likelihood of supporting a United Arts Fund. 

The median (or middle) response was 6, meaning simply that half responded 6 or higher, and half responded 6 or lower. In the table above, 137 people responded below 6 and 140 people responded above 6. 
The mode, or most frequent response was 10, indicating a substantial 

group of strong supporters, but not descriptive of the entire sample. In this 

example, the mean figure seems most informative. Median figures are particularly helpful when data sets (such as income figures) are skewed by one 

or more extreme observations, since the value of the middle statistic is 

unaffected by extreme cases at one end or the other. 

Analyzing Multiple Variables 

Cross-tabulations are useful in measuring the amount of similarity 

between two sets of data. Selecting which variables to cross-tabulate is an 

important part of your analysis. For this reason, it is helpful to have someone familiar with arts issues play a role in data analysis. Demographic 

variables are frequently cross-tabulated with arts participation data to 

reveal underlying patterns. Additional relationships between variables 

should be hypothesized in your research case statement, and should be 

explored in your analysis. For example, you may hypothesize that interest 

in attending more often is related to frequency of participation, and construct an analysis to prove or disprove your theory. Another use of crosstabulations is to obtain data on overlapping audiences between the 

various arts disciplines (e.g., what percentage of jazz attenders also attend 

ballet). 

Graphs can effectively communicate the results of cross-tabulations. The 

example below relates frequency of arts participation with educational 

attainment. In addition to displaying results in tabular or graphical format, measures of statistical significance should also be reported, such as 

Chi-square, T-test, and F-ratio. The Chi-square statistic, for example, tells 

you when to conclude that the distribution of two variables is independent 

(or dependent). Proper interpretation of these statistics requires some 

knowledge of statistics, but no report is complete without them. Most computer software programs compute these statistics automatically for crosstabulations. 

A word of caution about cross-tabulations. Finding a relationship between 

two variables does not prove that one variable necessarily causes the other. 

Cross-tabulations cannot prove causality - a variety of other factors may 
be at play. Rely on 

your intuition and 

OF PARTICIPATION BY knowledge of the surEDUCATION LEVELS vey subject matter to 

infer causality 

Bachelor’s High School or ~ Some ~ Degree or between two or more Lower College Higher 

variables. 

Advanced 

Statistical 

Procedures 

~ = ~o~- Tabulations and crosstabulations should sat­ 0 Times 1 Time 2 or 3 Times 4 or 5 Times 6+ Times 

Attended any of Eight Benchmark Arts Activities... isfy most, if not all, of

your analysis needs. Source: S.ramarv Re~ort: 12 Local Survevs of Arts Participatioa. 

However, it may be 

helpful for someone with statistical training to conduct further analyses. 

Several of the more advanced statistical procedures used in analyzing arts 

participation data include: 

ilili~,i~i~i Regression Analysis - used to measure the relationship between a dependent variable (y) such as classical music participation, and one or more 

independent variables (xl, x2, x3...) such as education level, participation 

in childhood music lessons, etc., which might predict (y). 

~:iiiii~ill Factor Analysis - a technique used to boil down a large number of variables into a limited number of dimensions for analysis. 

i~i~iiiii~i Discriminant Analysis - results from this analysis identify which factors 

contribute the most to a particular variable such as jazz participation. In 

the 12 Local Surveys, discriminant analysis was used to determine the 

demographic variables which best distinguish between those respondents 

who participate in the arts and those who do not. 

Acting on Your Survey Results 

How can your survey results be put to work? While some arts participation 

studies conclude with a final report or presentation, additional work 

remains to be done in most cases, depending on the original purpose of the 
study. Further dissemination of survey results may be advantageous, 

including press conferences, written press releases, one-on-one meetings 

with elected officials, presentations at city council and various board meetings, and facilitated workshops for local arts managers. Look beyond the 

original purpose of your survey for additional applications of the data. A 

survey conducted for advocacy purposes, for example, might also produce 

valuable marketing data for local arts managers. 

Generally, arts participation research has value to the arts administrator 

in three areas. All arts participation research has knowledge-value; it contributes to the collective understanding of the complex and changing arts 

participation patterns of Americans. In this sense, your research effort can 

benefit future studies, just as you benefited from the experience of previous 

researchers. Newly-gained knowledge may be shared with policy-makers 

and the public to inform their decisions and raise their awareness of arts 

issues. 

Survey results may also have decision-value in that they contribute information to a decision process typically related to arts facility development, 

program selection, or other resource allocation. For example, survey results 

can provide crucial direction and momentum to cultural planning efforts. 

In some cases, planners may simply take research results under advisement; in other cases, key decisions are based largely on survey results ­

underscoring the importance of using scientific research methods. 

Individual arts groups may also make decisions based on survey results ­

most often related to ticketing, programming, and marketing issues. 

Finally, survey results may have creative-value in the development of advocacy or audience development campaigns. Research findings may be translated into campaign themes (e.g., "Reno is one of America’s best read 

cities." billboard campaign) or creative ideas might surface during data 

analysis, particularly when responses to open-ended survey questions are 

analyzed. Revisiting your data with a different analytical perspective (e.g., 

marketing or education) may prove especially worthwhile. 
SECTION IV 

E N D i X 

Sample Survey Instrument 

Resources for Professional Assistance (listing of service organizations, etc.) 

Selected Geography Definitions 

Sampling Error Table 

Census-Defined Demographic Cohorts 

Bibliography on Public Participation in the Arts 
 

 

SAMPLE SURVEY INSTRUMENT 

1992 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (long form), National Endowment for the Arts 

July-December 1992 

FIELD REPRESENTATIVE - Ask SPPA-2 if respondent is 18 years of age or older 

INTRODUCTION - Now I have some questions about your leisure activities. The Bureau of the 

Census is collecting this information for the National Endowment for the Arts. The survey is

authorized by Title 20, United States Code, section 954 and Title 13, United States Code, section 

8. Your participation in this interview is voluntary and there are no penalties for not answering 

some or all of the questions. (If PERSONAL INTERVIEW, hand respondent the Privacy Act Statement, 

SPPA- 13.) 	 ~ 

The following questions are about YOUR

activities during the LAST 12 months--­

between 1, 19 ~ and 

~ 19__. 

With the exception of elementary or high

school performances, did YOU go to a live

jazz performance during the LAST 12

MONTHS? 

0[-]No 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~_~] Number of times 

2. (With the exception of elementary or high

school performances,) Did you go to a live

classical music performance such as

symphony, chamber, or choral music

during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

0~ 01-’1 No 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~___J Number of times 

3.	 (With the exception of elementary or high

school performances,) Did you go to a live

opera during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ o[-INo 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

[___~ Number of times 

4.	 (With the exception of elementary or high 

school performances,) Did you go to a live

musical stage play or an operetta during 

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ 0[]NoYes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~_~ Number of times 

5.	 (With the exception of elementary or high

school performances,) Did you go to a live

performance of a non-musical stage play

during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ 0 l’-~ NO 

Yes - About how many times did you do this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ ~ ~ I Number of times 

6.	 (With the exception of elementary or high

school performances,) Did you go to a live

ballet performance during the LAST 12

MONTHS? 

~ 01-]No 

Yes - About how many times did you do this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~_J Number of times 

(With the exception of elementary or high 

school performances,) Did you go to a live 

dance performance other than ballet, such

as modern, folk, or tap during the LAST 12 

MONTHS? 

0F]NO 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

I I [ I Number of times 

8.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


visit an ART museum or gallery?
 

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~L__~ Number of times 

9.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

visit an ART fair or festival, or a CRAFT fair 

or festival? 

~ 0F]No

Yes - About how many times did you do 

this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

I ~ ~ I Number of times 

2 
10.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

visit an historic perk or monument, or 

tour buildings, or neighborhoods for their

historic or design value? 

0[ NoYes - About how many times did you do this during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~_._~ Number of times 

11.	 With the exception of books required for

work or school, did you read any books 

during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

0~ 0[-]No 

Yes - About how many books did you read during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

L__J~ Number of books 

12.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 

read any -


Read answer categories 

a. Plays?	 ~ ,I-]No 2[-IYes 

b. Poetry? ~ ,[-INo 21-1Yes 

­. Novels or short stories? ~-~ 1[-I No 2 [] Yes 

13.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


listen to ­

a. A reading of poetry,

either live or recorded? [~ llaNo 2[-IYes 

b. A reading of novels or

books either live or 

recorded? ~ ,I--INo 2J-]Yes 

14a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 wstch a jazz performance on television or


a video (VCR) tape?
 

02~ ,~-]No - Skip to item 14c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

z[-ITV 

3[]VCR 

4J-]Both 

b.About how many times did you do this in

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~’~ ~ Number of times 

(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to jazz on radio? 

2[~Yes 

do(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to jazz records, tapes, or compact

discs? 

,[]No
 

21--IYes
 

Page 2 

15a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 watch a classical music performance on


television or a video (VCR) tape?
 

, [] No - Skip to item 15c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

3[-IVCR 

4/-’]BOth 

b.About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ Number of times 

c.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you 

listen to classical music on radio? 

~ , I-INo
 

21-]Yes
 

d.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to classical music records, tapes or

compact discs? 

~ ,[]N0 

21--IYes 

16a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 watch an opera on television or s video


(VCR) tape?
 

0-~ II--INo - Skip to item 16c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

3[]VCR 

4 [] Both 

b.About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you


listen to opera music on radio?
 

2[]Yes 

d. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to opera music records, tapes, or

compact discs? 

~ ,[]No 

2J-]Yes 

17a.With the exception of movies, did you
 

watch a musical stage play or an operetta
 

on television or a video (VCR) tape during
 

the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

~ , [] NO - Skip to item 17c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

s[’-IVCR
 

4 [] Both
 

b.About how many times did you do this (in
 

the LAST 12 MONTHS)?
 

~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to a musical stage play or an operetta

on radio? 

~ , F"INo 

2[]Yes 

d.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you

listen to a musical stage play or an operetta

on records, tapes, or compact discs? 

~-~ ,[]No 

2[-]Yes 

FORM SPPA-214-9-92~ 
18a.With the exception of movies, situation comedies, or TV series, did you watch a

non-musical stage play on television or a video

(VCR) tape during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

ll-INo - Skip to item 18c 

Yes - Was that on TV, VCR, or both? 

31-1VCR 

4OBoth 

b.About how many times did you do this (in the 

LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

L__~ Number of times 

c. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you listen

to a radio performance of a non-musical stage

play? 

~ 11-INo 

2~]Yes 

19a.With the exception of music videos, did you
 watch on television or a video (VCR) tape


dance such as ballet, modern, folk, or tap


during the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

~’~ 1 [] NO - Skip to item 20a 

Yes - Was that on W, VCR, or both? 

3~’-~VCR 

4 [] Both 

b.About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~.~ Number of times 

20a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you watch a program about artists, art works, or art

museums on television or a video (VCR) tape? 

~-~ 1[]No - Skip to item 21a 

Yes - Was that on "I’V, VCR, or both? 

~VCR 

4 [] Both 

b.About how many times did you do this (in

the LAST 12 MONTHS)? 

~ ~ ~ I Number of times 

21a.l’m going to read a list of events that some people like to attend. If you could go to any of

these events as often as you wanted, which

ones would you go to MORE OFTEN than you 

do now? I’ll read the list. Go to -

Mark (X) all that apply. 

1[]Jazz music performances
 

2~Classicai music performances
 

3 [] Operas
 

4 [] Musical plays or operettas


s[~ Non-musical plays
 

s[~ Ballet performances 

7[]Dance performances other than ballet 

e~-~Art museums or galleries 

91-1None of these - Skip to item 22a 

If only one is chosen, skip to item 22a.
 

If more than one is chosen, ask ­

b. Which of these would you like to do most? 

tit Category number 

00[--INo one thing most 

22a.The following questions are about your participation in other leisure activities. 

Approximately how many hours of television 

do you watch on an average day? 

I I I Number of hours 

b.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did YOU go 

out to the movies? 

os~ 1 [-I No 

2i--lYes 

c. With the exception of youth sports, did you

go to any amateur or professional sports

events during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ ~[]No 

2[-IYes 

d. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you go to

an amusement or theme park, a carnival, or

a similar place of entertainment? 

2[-IYes 

e. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you jog,

lift weights, walk, or participate in any other

exercise program? 

~ , I-INo
 

2i-IYes
 

During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you 

participate in any sports activity, such as

softball, basketball, golf, bowling, skiing, or 

tennis? 

go	 Did you participate in any outdoor activities,

such as camping, hiking, or canoeing during 

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

h.Did you do ~olunteer or charity work during

the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ ~ I-1No 

2[]Yes 

Did you make repairs or improvements on

your own home during the LAST 12

MONTHS? 

Did you work with indoor plants or do any

gardening for pleasure during the LAST 12

MONTHS? 

23a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you work 

with pottery, ceramics jewelry, or do any 

leatherwork or metalwork? 

~	 1 [] NO - Skip to item 24a
 

21-1Yes
 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~ 1[]No 

2t’-]Yes 

FORM SPPA-2 (4-9-92)	 Page 
24a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do any weaving, crocheting, quilting,

needlepoint, or sewing? 

~-~	 1 [] No - Skip to item 25a
 

2i-’1 Yes
 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~ 1DNo 

21"-lYes 

25a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you
 

make photographs, movies, or video tapes


as an artistic activity? 

~	 ~ [] No - Skip to item 26a 

2[-IYes 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~ , i--1 NO
 

2i--lYes
 

26a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do any painting, drawing, sculpture, or

printmaking activities? 

~	 ~ [] No - Skip to item 27a 

21-]Yes 

b. Did you publicly display any of your works? 

~r--IYes 

27a.With the exception of work or school, did you do any creative writing such as stories poems,

or plays during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~	 ~ [] No - Skip to item 28a 

2[]Yes 

b. Were any of your writings published? 

~ l[~N0
 

~l--lYes
 

28a.Did you write or compose any music during
 

the LAST 12 MONTHS?
 

~	 ~ [] No - Skip to item 29a 

2[]Yes 

b. Was your musical composition played in a

public performance or rehearsed for a public 

performance? 

~ 1 r-]No 

~[-]Yes 

29a. Do you own any original pieces of art, such
 

as paintings, drawings, sculpture, prints, or


lithographs?
 

~	 1 [] No - Skip to item 30a 

2[]Yes 

b.	 Did you purchase or acquire any of these

pieces during the LAST 12 MONTHS? 

~ ~ [-~No 

2[’-~Yes 

30a.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you
 perform or rehearse any jazz music?
 

~	 1 []No - Skip to item 31a 

2[]Yes 

Page 4 

30b.Did you piny any jazz in  ̄ public performance or rehearse for  ̄ public performance? 

31a. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you play

any classical music? 

~-~	 I[-]No- Skip tO item 32a
 

2[-IYes
 

bo	 Did you play classical music in a public

performance or rehearse for a public

performance? 

32a.During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing any music from an opera? 

~-~	 I[-]No- Skip to item 33a 

2[]Yes 

b.Did you sing in a public opera performance

or rehearse for a public performance? 

~ ~ [-I NO 

21-]Yes 

33a. During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing


music from a musical play or operetta?
 

~	 1 [] No - Skip to item 33c 

2[-IYes 

b. Did you sing in a public performance of a 

musical play or operetta or rehearse for a 

public performance? 

~ I-]No
 

2[-IYes
 

Co	 During the LAST 12 MONTHS, did you sing in

a public performance with a chorale, choir,

or glee club or other type of vocal group, or

rehearse for a public performance? 

34.	 (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you act in a

public performance of a non-musical play or

rehearse for a public performance? 

35a. (During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you dance


any ballet?
 

~	 ~ [-~No - Skip to item 36a 

~[-]Yes 

b.Did you dance ballet in a public performance

or rehearse for a public performance? 

~ , I~I NO
 

~l-]Yes 

36a.(During the LAST 12 MONTHS,) Did you do any dancing other than ballet such as modern, folk

or tap? 

2 I--]Yes
 

b.	 Did you dance modern, folk, or tap in a


public performance?
 

~Yes 

FO~M SPPA-2 
37a. I’m going to read a list of some types of

music. As I read the list, tell me which of

these types of music you like to listen to? 

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~ [] Classical/Chamber music 

2 [] Opera 

3 [] Operetta/Broadway musicals/Show tunes 

4~-]Jazz 

5[]Reggae (R~g giy’) 

6 [] Rap music 

~-~--]: ~[]Soul

8 [] Blues/Rhythm and blues 

9 [] Latin/Spanish/Salsa 

~ ~0[]Big band
 

11 [] Parade/Marching band
 

~2 []Country-western
 

~ 13 [] Bluegrass

~4[]Rock 

~-~The music of a particular Ethnic/ 

National tradition
 

~-~ 16 []Contemporary folk music
 

~7[]Mood/Easy listening
 ÷ ~6[]New age music 

~ 19[]Choral/Glee club
 

~÷~ 20 [] Hymns/Gospel
 

22[]None/Don’t like to listen to music - Skip to item 38a 

b. If only one category is marked in 37a, enter code in

37b without asking. Which of these do you like best? 

I ~ I Category number 

00[-I No one type best 

38a.Have you EVER taken lessons or classes in music - either voice training or playing an 

instrument? 

I[-’]NO- Skip tO item 39a 

2[]Yes 

bo Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if 

respondent is under 25 years old.) 

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~ [] Less than 12 years old
 

2~-]12-17 years old
 

3{--]1~-24 years old
 

4[~2S or older
 

[e]=l:(e~ Refer to item 38b illl:l~l M Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 38b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item B 

[] Yes - Ask item 38c 

38c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the elementary or high school you were

attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere? 

1 [] Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere ~3~Bot h_.___ ~ ~

Refer to item
 

If box ~ is marked in item ~Sb, AS~ item 38d.
 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 38b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 39a 

[] Yes - Ask item 38d 

38d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the past year? 

2~]Yes 

7"~" FO~M SPPA-2 (~-s-92, 

39a. (Have you EVER taken lessons or


classes) in visual arts such as sculpture,


painting, print making, photography, or


film making?
 

1~ 1 [] NO - Skip to item 40a 

2[]Yes 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were - Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 ~ [] Less than 12 years old 

2[]12-17 years old 

3[-]18-24 years old 

4[]2S or older 

Refer to item 39b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 39b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item D 

[]Yes - Ask item 39c 

39c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 elementary or high school you were


attending or did you take these lessons


elsewhere?
 

~[]Elementary/high school
 ~3~B 2 [] Elsewhere


oth 

~ Refer to item 39b 

If box 4 is marked in item 39b, ASK item 39d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 39b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 40a 

[]Yes - Ask item 39d 

39d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes
 in the past year?
 

40a.(Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in
 acting or theater?
 

~ 1[]No - Skip to item 41a
 

2[]Yes
 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if respondent is under 25 years old.) 

Mark (X) all that apply. 

1-~ 1 [] Less than f 2 years old
 

2[]12-17 years old
 

3[] 18-24 years old
 

4[]25 or older
 

Refer to item 40b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 40b? 

[]No - Skip to Check Item F 

[] Yes - Ask item 40c 

40c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 elementary or high school you were


attending or did you take these lessons


elsewhere?
 

~	 ; [] Elementary/high school
 

2 [] Elsewhere
 

3 [] Both
 

Page 
Refer to item 40b 

If box 4 is marked in item 40b, ASK item 40d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 40b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[-INo - Skip to item 41a 

[] Yes - Ask item 40d 

40d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the past year? 

41a.(Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in
 ballet?
 

~	 1 [] No - Skip to item 42a 

21-1Yes 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 1 [] Less than 12 years old 

2 [] 12-17 years old 

3[]1~-24 years old 

4 [] 25 or older 

Refer to item 41b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 41b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item H 

[]Yes - Ask item 41c 

41c.Were these lessons or classes offered by the
 elementary or high school you were


attending or did you take these lessons
 

elsewhere?
 

~	 ~ [] Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

3 [] Both 

Refer to item 41b 

If box 4 is marked in item 41b, ASK item 41d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 41b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[]No - Skip to item 42a 

[]Yes - Ask item 41d 

41d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes
 

in the past year?
 

~ ~[]No 

2[]Yes 

42a. (Have you EVER taken lessons or classes) in

dance, other than ballet such as modem, folk

or tap? 

~	 1[]No- Skip toitem43a 

2[]Yes 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~ 1 [] Less then 12 yeers old 

2~-}12-17 years old
 

3[~1~-24 yeers old
 

4 [] 25 or older
 

Refer to item 42b 

~ 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 42b? 

[]No - Skip to Check Item J 

[]Yes - Ask item 42c 

42c. Were these lessons or clams offered by the 

elementary or high school you were

attending or did you take these lessons 

elsewhere? 

~ 1 [] Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

3 [] Both 

Refer to item 42b 

If box 4 is marked in item 42b, ASK item 42d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 42b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[]No - Skip to item 43a 

[] Yes - Ask item 42d 

42d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the past year? 

11~ 1 ~-’~ NO 

2[]Yes 

43a. Have you EVER taken lessons or classes in creative writing? 

~ 1 []No -- Skip to item 44a 

2i-lYes 

b.Did you take these lessons when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~ ~ [] Less than 12 years old 

2[]12-17 years old 

3[]18-24 years old 

4[]25 or older 

~E~Refer to item 43b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 43b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item L 

[] Yes - Ask item 43c 

43c. Were these lessons or classes offered by the 

elementary or high school you were

attending or did you take these lessons

elsewhere? 

~	 ~ []Elementary/high school 

2 [] Elsewhere 

3 [] Bet h 

Refer to item 43b 

If box 4 is marked in item 43b, ASK item 43d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 43b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 44a 

[] Yes - Ask item 43d 

43d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes in the past year? 

~ l[]N0

~l-lYes 

44a. (Have you EVER taken a class) in art appreciation or art history? 

~	 II-~No- Skip to item 45a 

2[]Yes 

b.Did you take this class when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if 

respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~ 1 [] Less then 12 years old 

÷ 2[]12-17 years old 

3 [] 18-24 years old 

4 [] 25 or older 

Page 6 
Refer to item 44b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 44b? 

[] No L Skip to Check Item N 

[]Yes - Ask item 44c 

44c.Was this class offered by the elementary or high school you were attending or did you 

take this class elsewhere? 

[]Elementary/high school
 

[] Elsewhere
 

[] Both
 

IIIIl=l~d I~] Refer to item 44b 

If box 4 is marked in item 44b, ASK item 44d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 44b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 45a 

r-lYes - Ask item 44d 

44d.Did you take any of these lessons or classes 

in the past year? 

45a. (Have you EVER taken a class) in music 

appreciation? 

~	 1 [] No - Skip to item 46a 

2[]Yes 

Did you take this class when you were -

Read categories. (Do not read category 4 if respondent is under 25 years old.)

Mark (X) all that apply. 

~	 1[]Less then 12 years old 

2[]12-17 years old 

3[-]t8-24 years old 

4D=S or older 

Refer to item 45b 

Is box 1 or 2 marked in item 45b? 

[] No - Skip to Check Item P 

[] Yes - Ask item 45c 

Notes 

45c.Wes this class offered by the elementary or
 high school you were attending or did you


take this class elsewhere?
 

1[] Elementary/high school
 

2[] Elsewhere
 

3[] Both
 

Refer to item 45b 

If box 4 is marked in item 45b, ASK item 45d. 

If not - Is box 2 or 3 marked in item 45b AND 

the respondent is under 25 years old? 

[] No - Skip to item 46a 

[]Yes - Ask item 45d 

45d.Did you take this class in the past year? 

l[]N0 

2[]Yes 

46a.What is the highest grade (or year) of regular
 school your FATHER completed?
 

ol l’-17th grade or less 

o2i--18th grade 

03[] 9th-1 lth grades 

o4 r-112th grade 

o5 [] College (did not complete) 

o6i’-] Completed college (4+ years) 

o>i’-IPost graduate degree (MA., Ph.D., M.D., J.D., etc.) 

o~[-I Don’t know 

b.What is the highest grade (or year) of regular

school your MOTHER completed? 

~	 ol [~Tth grade or less 

o2[-18th grade 

o3[]9th-1 lth grades 

o~F-] 12th grade 

osi-lCollege (did not complete) 

06 [] Completed college (4+ years) 

o~[]Post graduate degree (M.A., Ph.D., M.D., J.D., etc.) 

o~1"-I Don’t know 

Is this the LAST household member to be IIl=lk~! )] interviewed? 

[] No - Go back to the NCS- 1 and interview the 

next eligible NCS household member 

[-IYes - END INTERVIEW 

FORM SPPA*2 (2-9-g2)	 Page 
 

 

The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts has been conducted
 

in cooperation with a much larger multi-agency data collection
 

program of the Bureau of the Census. Each cooperating agency has
 

its own questionnaire for specific questions. General questions
 

are asked separately and shared. Therefore, these questions are
 

not included on the special forms for the Endowment’s Survey of
 

Public Participation in the Arts.
 

The following list names the data that is available for analysis in
 

combination with the information collected on the questionnaire for
 

the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
 

A. Geography
 

The following geographic data is available on the
 

computer tape. It is possible to combine these with the
 

arts participation data in many different ways including
 

detailed correlation and regression analyses.
 

a. Urban
 

Do
 Rural (farm, non-farm, i0 acres or more, i0 acres
 

or less)
 

Co
 Population size of place (16 levels of population
 

subdivision)
 

do
 Description of place (central city of an SMSA,
 

central city of an urbanized area only, other
 

incorporated place, unincorporated place)
 

Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (central
 

city, SMSA-outside central city, outside SMSA)
 

The second group of geographic data that follows is
 

available in tabular format only and requires a special
 

contract with the Bureau of the Census. It is not
 

possible to use the tabular data in more sophisticated


correlations or regression analyses. The subdivision of
 

the geographic data into the two groups and the
 

limitations on the use of the second group are imposed by
 

the Bureau of the Census to maintain the privacy of the
 

individuals responding to the survey.
 

a. State (name of state)
 

b. County (name of county)
 

Co
 Metropolitan status of county (in a single county
 

SMSA, central county of a multi-county SMSA,
 

suburban county of an SMSA)
 
 

de
 Status of non-metropolitan counties (with places of
 

25,000 to 50,000, with places of i0,000 to 25,000,
 

with urban places but no place over i0,000, no
 

urban population)
 

e. SMSA (name of SMSA)
 

f.	 Population size of SMSA (5 levels of population
 

subdivision)
 

So
 Demography
 

The following kinds of demographic data are available on the
 

computer tape and permits combination with the arts
 

participation questions in many different ways including
 

detailed correlation and regression analysis.
 

Race (White, Black, Other)
 

Origin (20 origin codes including German, Italian, Irish,
 

French, Polish, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Afro-


American)
 

Age
 

4.	 Marital Status
 

5.	 Sex
 

6.	 Relationship in household (husband, wife, son, etc.)
 

7.	 Highest grade or year of school attended or completed
 

8.	 Combined household income (14 levels of income
 

subdivision)
 

Number of children in household
 

Co
 Housing
 

Many housing details are available on the computer tape.
 

Examples of possible housing data that can be obtained are:
 

i.	 Type of housing unit
 

2.	 Telephone availability
 

3.	 Number of housing units in structure
 

4.	 Tenure of living quarters (owned, rented, occupied
 

without payment of cash rent)
 
Do
 Occupation and Employment
 

The background data collected includes the standard questions
 

used to develop the Department of Labor’s employment and
 

unemployment statistics. Data is available on the computer
 

tape that is comparable with the regular federal reports on
 

occupation and employment. These include:
 

Employment status (labor force status)
 

2. Reason for unemployment
 

3. Extent of job search efforts
 

4. Occupation
 

5. Type of employing organization
 
RESOURCES FOR PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE 

The following national arts service organizations may provide lists of 

consultants or referrals for professional services in the area of research. 

Some also offer research publications. 

1. American Association of Museums 

Technical Information Service and AAM Bookstore 

1225 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 200 

Washington, DC 20005 

(202) 289-1818 

2. American Symphony Orchestra League 

777 14th Street, N.W., Suite 500 

Washington, DC 20005 

(202) 628-0099 

3. Association of Performing Arts Presenters 

1112 16th Street, N.W., Suite 400 

Washington, DC 20036 

(202) 833-2787 

4. International Association of Auditorium Managers 

4425 W. Airport Freeway, Suite 590 

Irving, TX 75062 

(214) 255-8020 

5. International Society for the Performing Arts 

2920 Fuller Ave., N.E., Suite 205 

Grand Rapids, MI 49505 

(616) 364-3000 

6. League of Historic American Theatres 

1511 K Street, N.W., Suite 923 

Washington, DC 20005 

(202) 783-6966 

7. National Assembly of State Arts Agencies 

1010 Vermont Ave., N.W., #920 

Washington, DC 20005 

(202) 347-6352 

8. National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies 

927 15th Street, N.W., 12th F1. 

Washington, DC 20005 

(202) 371-2830 

9. National Endowment for the Arts 

Research Office 

1100 Pennsylvania Ave. 

Washington, DC 20506 

(202) 682-5432 
SELECTED GEOGRAPHY DEFINITIONS
 

Geography Description 

U.S. Census 

Division 

The U.S. Census Bureau has divided all 50 states in the U.S. into nine 

regional divisions: New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East 

North Central, East South Central, West North Central, West South 

Central, Mountain, and Pacific. 

State, County Defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

ADI "Area of Dominant Influence" - defined by Arbitron as a group of 

counties or county parts that define a television viewing area. 

MSA 

(Census-defined) 

"Metropolitan Statistical Area" - an urbanized area such as a grouping 

of counties generally with a population of at least 50,000. 

Place 

(Census-defined) 

Cities, towns, villages, boroughs, etc., which may cross county 

boundaries. (For example, census data is available on states, counties, 

places, census tracts and block groups.) 

ZIP Code 

(Postal-defined) 

The standard five-digit ZIP Code denotes the area of the country and 

the U.S. Postal Service delivery office for a particular address. There 

are approximately 36,000 ZIP Codes in the U.S. 

Census Tract 

(Census-defined) 

A relatively small unit of geography containing between 2,500 and 

8,000 residents. Generally, census tracts do not cross county 

boundaries. 

Block Group 

(Census-defined) 

Census tracts are sub-divided into block groups containing between 

200 to 300 households, on average. Block groups are the smallest 

geographies for which census data is publicly available. 

ZIP+4 

(Postal-defined) 

ZIP+4 is a postal code assigned by the U.S. Post Office which facilitates 

address identification and mail sorting. In the ZIP+4 extension, the 

first two digits denote the delivery sector, which can be several blocks, 

a group of streets, several buildings or a small geographic area. The 

last two digits denote a delivery segment within the delivery sector. 

The delivery segment can be one floor of an office building, one side of 

a street, specific departments within a firm, or a group of Post Office 

boxes. Generally, a ZIP+4 contains between 5 to 15 households. There 

are over 23 million ZIP+4s in the U.S. 
 

SAMPLING ERROR TABLE 

Any value derived from the use of sampling methodologies reflects the "true but unknown" values 

which occur in the data. For example, simply because the mean age for survey respondents in a 

given area is 46, this number is not absolute. There is variability surrounding this "point estimate" 

since it was derived through sampling techniques and not through a census of the entire area. 

Therefore, a standard error must be calculated to define the area surrounding the point estimate in 

which the actual "true but unknown" value lies. Sampling error is affected by three variables: 

1. the sample size 

2. the ’~level of confidence" desired 

3. the sample statistic to be tested 

The formulas for computing sampling error and other measures of variability may be found in a statistics textbook.26 The table below lists sampling error rates for various sample sizes and survey 

results at the 95% confidence level. 

For example, say that 21.5% of respondents to a survey indicated that they attended at least one 

stage play in the past year. If the sample size was 400, and you wish to know the margin of error, 

find the "Survey Result" row for "20% or 80%" then move over to the column for "Sample Size" equals 

400. The figure you want is 3.92%. Therefore, you can say that the actual number of people in the 

population you sampled who attended a play in the past 12 months is 21.5%plus or minus 3.92% at 

the 95% confidence level. 

(95% Confidence Level) 

Sample Size 

Survey Result , 100 200 I 300 ! 400.i 500  ̄i 600 800 1000 :.~ 1500 

5% or 95% ~ 4.27i 3.02 2.47! 2.14 : 1.91  ̄ 1.741 1.511 1.35 1.10 

15% or 85% i 7.00 3.50 i 3.13 i 2.86 2.47i 2.21 ! 1.81 

26A widely used textbook on statistics is Statistics for Business and Economics, by James McClave and P. George Benson, 

1985, Dellen Publishing Company, ISBN 0-02-378770-8. 

82 
CENSUS-DEFINED DEMOGRAPHIC COHORTS 

In designing arts participation surveys, it is often beneficial to use standard demographic categories 

or "cohorts" defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Survey results for a given geography can then be 

compared to Census data for the same area. Census data is widely available through libraries and 

commercial sources. Census cohorts for age, education, income, occupation, marital status and 

race/ethnicity are provided below, along with "alternative" cohorts which may be groupings of census 

cohorts or other categories used by researchers. 

Census 

Cohorts 

1.Age	 0 - 4Yrs.
 

5 - 9 Yrs.
 

10 - 14 Yrs.
 

15 - 17 Yrs.
 

18 - 20 Yrs.
 

21 - 24 Yrs.
 

25 - 29 Yrs.
 

30 - 34 Yrs.
 

35 - 39 Yrs.
 

40 - 44 Yrs.
 

45 - 49 Yrs.
 

50 - 54 Yrs.
 

55 - 59 Yrs.
 

60 - 64 Yrs.
 

65 - 69 Yrs.
 

70 - 74 Yrs.
 

75 - 84 Yrs.
 

85+ Yrs.
 

2.Education 0 - 8 Yrs. 

(highest level Some High School 

completed) High School 

Some College 

Associates Degree 

Bachelors Degree 

Graduate Degree 

3.Income Under-S5,000


(total annual $5,ooo-$15,ooo
 household $15,000-$25,000
 

income) $25,000-$35,000


$35,000-$50,000 

$50,000-$75,000

$75,o00-$1oo,ooo

$100,000-$150,000 

Over $150,000 

Alternative 

Cohorts 

Under 18 Yrs. 

18 - 24 Yrs. 

25 - 34 Yrs. 

35 - 44 Yrs. 

45 - 54 Yrs. 

55 - 64 Yrs. 

65 - 74 Yrs. 

75+ Yrs. 

Less Than High School 

High School Graduate 

Vocational School 

Some College/Associates Degree 

Bachelors Degree 

Some Graduate Study 

Graduate Degree 

Under $25,000

$25,000-$35,000

$35,000-$50,000 $50,000-$75,000 

$75,000-$100,000 

$100,000-$125,000 

$125,000-$150,000 

Over $150,000 
Alternative 

Cohorts Cohorts 

4.Occupational Admin. & Management In-School Full-Time 

Status Professional Specialty Working Full-Time (for pay) 

Working Part-Time (for pay) 

Sales Unemployed/Seeking Work 

Admin. & Clerical Homemaker Full-Time 

Private Household Occup. Volunteer Work Full-Time 

Protective Services Retired 

Other Service 

Farming, Forestry & Fishing 

Precision Crai~s & Repair 

5. Marital Status	 Mar~ed Married]Life Partner

Single Single, Never Married 

Previously Married Separated or Divorced 

Widowed 

6. Race~thnicity White Alaskan Native 

Black Asian/Pacific Islander 

American Indian Black/African American 

Asian Chinese Hispanic]Latino Origin 

Asian Indian 

Native Amer./Amer. Indian 

White, Not Hispanic 

Asian Korean Other 

Asian Vietnamese 

Asian Other 

Pacific Islander 

Other 

Hispanic* 

Hispar.ic ~te 

Hispanic Black 

Hispanic Amer. Indian 

Hispanic Asian 

Hispanic Other 

Non-Hispanic 

*independent of race 
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE ARTS 

The following bibliography includes publications and reports related to public participation in the 

arts, including national and local studies commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts and 

various other agencies. Local studies are listed separately at the end for ease of reference. 

Publications and Reports on Research 

Commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts 

Final reports of research projects administered through the Research Division of the National Endowment for the Arts are 

available through the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), sponsored by the National Institute of Education 

of the U.S. Department of Education. Where applicable, ERIC reference numbers are included in the listings below. 

Inquiries concerning the availability of microfishe or paper copies of these documents should be directed to ERIC 

Document Reproduction Service, Cincinnati Bell Information Systems (CBIS) Federal, 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, 

Springfield, VA 22153-2852. Telephone (703) 440-1400 or toll-free (800) 443-ERIC. Fax number (703) 440-1408. 

Abreu, Dan; Friedman, Andrea; Logan, Catrina; Reinhart, 

Kay; and Ziff, Charles, Survey of Public Participation in the 

Arts: Musical Theatre. Overetta. and Opera Attendees, 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1987, (ERIC No. 289760). 

Andreason, Alan R. and Belk, Russell W., Audience 

Development: An Examination of Selected Analysis ~nd 

Prediction Techniques Applied to Symphony and Theatre 

Attendance in Four Southern Cities, Research Division 

Report #14, National Endowment for the Arts, 1981, (ERIC 

No. 283754). 

Andreasen, Alan R., Expanding the Audience for the 

Performing Arts, National Endowment for the Arts and 

Seven Locks Press, Washington, DC, 1991, (ERIC No. 

289804). 

Blau, Judith R. and Quets, Gail A., The Geo~raph_v of Arts 

Participation: Report on the 1982 and 1985 Survey 0f Public’ 

Particivation in the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, 

1987, (ERIC No. ED289762). 

Citro, Constance F., Public Participation in the Arts in 

America: A Review of Data Sources and Data Need~, 1990, 

Research Division, National Endowment for the Arts. 

Cwi, David, editor, Research in the Arts: Proceedings of the 

Conference on Policy Related Studies of the Nati0n~! 

Endowment for the Arts, December 7-9, 1977, (ERIC No. 

ED227023) Includes the following arts participation-related 

articles: 

Orend, Richard, "Developing Research on the Arts 

Consumer" 

Andreasen, Alan R. and Belk, Russell W., "Consumer 

Response to Arts Offerings: A Study of Theatre and 

Symphony in Four Southern Cities" (ERIC No. 

ED230450) 

Peterson, George L. and Anas, Alex, "A Behavioral 

Approach for Assessing the Demands for Cultural and 

Artistic Recreational Activities" 

Katzman, Natan, "How Broadcasters Assess the Response 

to Program Offerings" 

Cwi, David, "The Policy Uses of Audience Studies" 

Useem, Michael and DiMaggio, Paul, "A Critical Review of 

the Content, Quality and Use of Audience Studies" 

DiMaggio, Paul J.; Useem, Michael and Brown, Paula, The 

American Arts Audience: Its Study and Its Character, 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1977. 

DiMaggio, Paul J.; Useem, Michael and Brown, Paula, 

Audience Studies of the Performing Arts and Museums: A 

Critical Review, Research Division Report #9, National 

Endowment for the Arts, 1978. 

DiMaggio, Paul J. and Ostrower, Francie, Race, Ethnicity 

and Participation in the Arts: Patterns of Participation by 

Hispanic. White and African-Americans in Selected 

Activities from the 1982 and 1985 Surveys of Public, 

Participation in the Arts, Seven Lock Press, Washington, 

DC, 1992, (ERIC No. 293759). 

Horowitz, Harold, The American Jazz Music Audience, 

National Jazz Service Organization, Washington, DC, 1986, 

(ERIC No. ED280757). 

Keegan, Carol, Public Participation in Classical Ballet: A 

Special Analysis of the Ballet Data Collected in the 1982 

and 1985 Survey of Public Participation in the Art, s~ 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1987, (ERIC No. 288756). 

National Endowment for the Arts, A Sourcebook of Arts 

Statistics: 1991 (1989. 1987), Washington, DC, 1992, 1990, 

1988, (ERIC No. ED349240). 

National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division, 

Surve_ving Your Arts Audience, Washington, DC, 1985. 

National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division Report 

#17, The Arts Public in the South, Publishing Center for 

Cultural Resources, New York, 1984. (ERIC No. ED286785) 

National Endowment for the Arts, Research Division 

Report #4, Arts and Cultural Pro~ams on Radio 

Television, Washington, DC, 1977, (ERIC No. ED165205). 
National Endowment for the Arts, "Research on Public Participation in the Arts: Summary Report on the 

December 1992 Conference," also "Conference Overview 

and Research Issues," Research Division, 1993. 

Orend, Richard J., Leisure Participation in the South 1980: 

Volumes I-III, Human Resources Research Organization 

and National Endowment for the Arts, 1980, (ERIC No. 

ED206521, 2, & 3). 

Orend, Richard J., Socialization and Participation in the 

Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC, 

1989, (ERIC No. ED283768). 

Robinson, John P.; Keegan, Carol A., and Triplett, Timothy 

A., Survey of Public Particivation in the Arts: 1985, Volume 

I Project Report. University of Maryland and National 

Endowment for the Arts, Washington, DC, 1987, (ERIC No. 

289763). 

Robinson, John P., Arts Participation in America: 1982­

1992, Prepared by Jack Faucett Associates, Research 

Division Report #27, National Endowment for the Arts, 

1993. 

Schuster, J. Mark Davidson, The Audience for American Art 

Museums, Seven Locks Press, Washington, DC, 1991, 

(ERIC No. 294780). 

West, Jerry, Public Participation in the Arts: Demands and 

Ba~iers, National Endowment for the Arts, 1987, (ERIC 

No. ED287764). 

Zill, Nicholas and Winglee, Marianne, Who Reads 

Literature? The Future of the United States as a Nation of 

Readers, Seven Locks Press, Washington, DC, 1989, (ERIC 

No. 302812). 

Waterman, David; Schechter, Russell and Contractor, 

Nashir S., Public Participation in the Arts via the Media, 

Bailey, Robert H.; Dixon, Brian; and Courtney, Alice; The 

Museum and the Canadian Public, Culturcan Publications, 

1974, for the Arts and Culture Branch, Dept. of the 

Secretary of State, Government of Canada. 

Bamossy, Gary, "Socializing Experiences as Predictors of 

Performing Arts Patronage Behavior," Journal of Cultural 

Economics, 6:2, pp. 37-43. 

Baumol, William J. and Bowen, William G., Performing 

Art~: The EcQnQmi¢ Dilemma, The Twentieth Century 

Fund, New York, 1966. 

Blattberg, Robert C. and Broderick, Cynthia J., "Marketing 

of Art Museums" in Feldstein, Martin, The Economic~ 0fArt 

Museums., University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991, pp. 

327-346. 

Blatti, Jo, editor, Past Meets Present: Essays about Historic 

Interpretation and Public Audiences, Smithsonian 

Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1987. 

Cameron, S., "The Supply and Demand for Cinema Tickets: 

Some U.K. Evidence," Journal of Cultural Economics., 10:1, 

June 1986, pp. 38-62. 

Cornwell, Terri Lynn, Democracy and the Arts: The Role of 

Participation, Praeger, New York, 1990. 

Cwi, David, "Changes in the U.S. Audience for the Arts," 

Governments and Culture, Association of Cultural Economics, 1984, pp. 32-42. 

Cwi, David, "Market Segments for Theatre: Research to 

Increase Arts Participation," Economic Efficiency ond the 

Performing Arts, Association of Cultural Economics, 1986, 

pp. 150-158. 

Dickenson, Victoria, "Museum Visitor Surveys: An 

Overview, 1930-1990," Cultural Economics, Ruth Towse and 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1987, (ERIC No. 290674).Abdul Khakee, editors, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1992, 

Other Publications and Reports 

on Arts Participation 

American Association of Museums, Resource Report, Visitor 

Surveys: AUser’s Manual, by Randi Korn and Laurie Sowd, 

1990. 

Andreasen, Alan R. and Belk, Russell W., "The Effect of

Family Life Cycle on Arts Patronage," Journal of Cultural 

Economics, 6:2, pp. 25-35. 

Arts for Americ~ffN~, The Arts in Rural Areas, 

Washington, DC, 1988. 

Balfe, Judith H. and Heine, Joni Cherbo, editors, Arts Education Beyond the Classroom, ACA Books, New York, 1988. 

Balfe, Judith H. "Social Mobility and Modern Art," Social 

Movements. Conflict and Change, Vol. 4 (1981), pp. 235-251. 

pp. 141-150. 

DiMaggio, Paul J. and Useem, Michael, "Cultural 

Democracy in a Period of Cultural Expansion: The Social 

Composition of Arts Audiences in the United States," Social 

Problems, Vol. 26, 1978, pp. 179-97. 

Evrand, Yves, "The Determinants of Cultural 

Consumption," Artists and Cultural Consumer, Association 

of Cultural Economics, Akron, OH, 1986, pp. 192-201. 

Falk, John H., Leisure Decisions Influencing AfricanAmerican Use of Museums, American Association of 

Museums, 1993. 

Feldstein, Martin, editor, The Economics of Art Museums, 

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1991, "The Museum 

and the Public," a panel discussion, Ch. 2, pp. 35-60. 

Felton, Marianne Victorius, "Major Influences on the 

Demand for Opera Tickets," Journal of Cultural Economics, 

13:1, pp. 53-64. 
Felton, Marianne Victorius, "On The Assumed Inelasticity 

of Demand for the Performing Arts," Journal of Cultural 

Economics. 16:1, June 1992, pp. 1-12. 

Fitzhugh, Lynne, "An Analysis of Audience Studies for the 

Performing Arts in America.’k Journal of Arts Management 

and Law, Part I: "The Audience Profile" is in 13:2, Summer 

1983, pp. 49-85; Part II: "Market Behavior" is in 13:3, Fall 

1983, pp. 5-31. 

Gapinski, James H., "Economics, Demographics and 

Attendance at the Symphony," Journal of Cultural 

Economics, 5:2, pp. 79-83. 

Gray, Charles M., "Subsidizing the Arts with Vouchers: A 

Case Study of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Arts Alliance," 

1992, unpublished paper. 

Harris, Louis, and Associates, Americans and the Arts: A 

Nationwide Survey of Public Opinion, periodic surveys, 

American Council for the Arts, New York, 1992, 1988, etc. 

Heilbrun, James, "The Distribution of Arts Activities Among 

U.S. Metropolitan Areas," Cultural Economics 88: An 

American Perspective, Association of Cultural Economics, 

1988, pp. 33-40. 

Heilbrun, James, "Growth and Geographic Distribution on 

the Arts in the U.S.," Artists and Cultural ConsumCr~, 

Association of Cultural Economics, Akron, OH, 1986, pp. 24­

35. 

Hendon, Mary Ann; Richardson, James F. and Hendon, 

William S., Bach and the Box: The Impact of Television on 

the Live Arts, Journal of Cultural Economics, Special 

Supplement, 1985. 

Hendon, R. Claude, "A Comparative Study of Leisure 

Activities of the Elderly in the Community and in Nursing 

Homes," Cultural Economics 88: An American Perspective, 

Association of Cultural Economics, 1988, pp. 143-148. 

Hendon, R. Claude, "Arts Participation: Comparing the 

Elderly and Non-Elderly," Journal of Cultural Economics., 

16:1, pp. 83-92. 

Hoffman, Miles K. and Fritschner, Linda Marie, "Arts and 

Art Audiences: Testing the Market," The Journal of Arts 

Management and Law, 14:2, Summer 1984, pp. 5-19. 

Hood, Marilyn, "Staying Away: Why People Choose Not to 

Visit an Art Museum," Museum News., April 1983, pp. 

50-57. 

Hood, Marilyn, "Getting Started in Audience Research," 

Museum News. February, 1986, pp. 25-31. 

Horowitz, Harold; Keegan, Carol and Kempnich, Barbara, 

"Cultural Participation and Geographic] Population 

Schema: From New York City to the Rural Farm," Artists 

and Cultural Consumer~, 1986, pp. 36-50. 

Hughes, Michael A. and Peterson, Richard A., "Isolating 

Cultural Choice Patterns in the U.S. Population," American 

Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 26, March/April 1983, pp. 459­

478. 

Johnson, Alton C. and Prieve, E. Arthur, Older Americans: 

The Unrealized Audience for the Arts, Center for Arts

Administration, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1975. 

Kangun, Norman; Otto, Gordon and Randall, Dana C., 

"Marketing Strategies for Bolstering Symphony Attendance 

among College Students," Journal of Cultural Economics, 

16:1, June 1992, pp. 25-40. 

Katz, Jonathan and Sikes, Toni Fountain, editors, 

Consumer Behavior and the Arts, a special issue of The 

Journal of Arts Management and Law, 15:1, Spring 1985. 

(entire issue). 

Kurabayashi, Yoshimasa and Ito, Takatoshi, "SocioEconomic Characteristics of Audiences for Western Classical 

Music in Japan: A Statistical Analysis," Cultural Economics, 

Ruth Towse and Abdul Khakee, editors, Springer-Verlag, 

New York, 1992, pp. 275-287. 

McCain, Roger A., "Game Theory and Cultivation of Taste," 

Journal of Cultural Economics. 10:1, pp.1-16. 

McCain, Roger A., "Reflections on the Cultivation of Taste," 

Journal of Cultural Economics, 3:1, pp. 30-50. 

McCaughey, C., A Survey of Arts Audience Studies: A 

Canadian Perspective. 1967 to 1984, Research and 

Evaluation, The Canada Council, Ottawa, 1984. 

Mitchel, Arnold, The Professional Performing Arts: 

Attendance Patterns. Preferences and Motives. Association 

of College, University and Community Arts Administrators 

Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, 1984. 

Morison, Bradley G. and Fliehr, Kay, In Search of an 

Audience: How an Audience was Found for the _Tyrone 

Guthrie Theatre, Pitman, New York, 1968. 

Morison, Bradley G. and Dalgleish, Julie Gordon, Waiting in 

the Wings, American Council for the Arts, New York 1987. 

Morrison, William G. and West, Edwin G., "Child Exposure 

to the Performing Arts: The Implications for Adult 

Demand," Journal of Cultural Economics, 10:1, pp. 17-23. 

O’Hare, Michael, %Vhy Do People Go to Museums? The 

Effect of Prices and Hours on Museum Utilization," 

Museum, 27:3, pp. 134-146. 

Owen, Virginia Lee and Hendon, William S., editors, 

Managerial Economics for the Art~, Association of Cultural 

Economics, Akron, OH, 1985. Section on "Measuring Arts 

Participation," pp. 181-206 includes the following articles: 

Horowitz, Harold, "Measuring Arts Participation in 

Canada and the United States" 

Kinsley, Brian L., "Cultural Activities Surveys - The 

Canadian Case" 
Robinson, John P., "Estimating the Public’s Exposure to 

and Expenditures on the Arts" 

Zuzanek, Jiri, "Studies of Arts and Cultural Participation: 

Problems and Controversies" 

Pankratz, David B., "Arts Policy and Older Adults" The 

Journal of Arts Management and Law, 18:4, Winter 1989, 

pp. 13-64. 

Pankratz, David B. and Morris, Valerie B., editors, The 

Future of the Arts: Public Policy and Arts Research, 

Praeger, New York, 1990, "Part III: Social Trends and 

Research on Public Participation in the Arts," pp. 63-187, 

includes the following articles: 

Cornwell, Terri Lynn, "Democracy and the Arts: The Role 

of Participation" 

Shuster, J. Mark Davidson, "Correlates of State Arts 

Support: The Geographic Distribution of 

Organizations, Artists, and Participation" 

DiMaggio, Paul J. and Ostrower, Francie, "Participation 

in the Arts by Black and White Americans" 

Meyersohn, Rolf, "Culture in the Bronx: Minority 

Participation in the Arts" 

Keller, Anthony S., "Arts Policy, Cultural Diversity, and 

the New Century" 

Pankratz, David B., "Arts Policy in an Aging Society" 

Also see extensive "Selected Bibliography", pp. 289-310. 

Peterson, Richard A. "Patterns of Cultural Choice", special 

issue, American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 26, 1983. 

Pommerehne, Werner W. and Kirchgassner, Gebhard, "The 

Decline of Conventional Culture: The Impact of Television 

on the Demand for Cinema and Theatre Performances," 

Economic Efficiency and the Performing Arts, 1986, pp. 44­

61. 

Rau, William, "Does Education Lead to Fine Arts 

Appreciation?" Artists and Cultural C~nsumer, Association 

of Cultural Economics, 1986, pp. 284-286. 

Reed, John Shelton and Marsden, Peter, Leisure Time Use 

in the South: Secondarv Anal~vsis, National Endowment for 

the Arts, 1980. 

Robinson, John P. "Cultural Indicators from the Leisure 

Activity Survey", American Behavioral Scientist, Vol. 26, 

1983, pp. 543-552. 

Schliewen, Rolf E., A Leisure Study- Canada 1975. Arts 

and Culture Branch, Department of the Secretary of State, 

1977. 

Schuster, J. Mark Davidson; An Inquiry into the 

Geo~aphicCorrelates of Government Arts Funding, 

National Endowment for the Arts, 1988. 

Semenik, Richard and Bamossy, Gary ’TIethodological 

Issues in Arts Marketing Research", Managerial Economics 

for the Arts., Virginia Lee Owen and William S. Hendon, editors, Association of Cultural Economics, Akron Ohio, 1985,

pp. 23-34. 

Vaughan, D. Roger, "Marketing: A Positive Approach to 

Managing Recreational Use of Sites in the Countryside", 

Managerial Economics for the Arts, Virginia Lee Owen and 

William S. Hendon, editors, Association of Cultural 

Economics, Akron, Ohio, 1985, pp. 143-150. 

Waterman, David; Schechter, Russell and Contractor, 

Nashir S., "Overcoming Barriers to the Live Arts: Can the 

Media Compensate?" Journal of Cultural Economics., 15:2, 

pp. 19-40. 

Wyszomirski, Margaret Jane and Clubb, Pat, editors, The 

Cost of Culture: Patterns and Prospects of Private Arts 

Patronage, ACA Books, New York, 1989. 

Zuzanek, Jiri and Lee, Marlene, "Social Ecology of Arts 

Audiences," Journal of Cultural Economics, 9:1, June 1985, 

pp. 65-84. 

Selected Local Area 

Arts Participation Research 

Dane Count_v Arts Study, conducted for the Madison (WI) 

Community Foundation by Gene Kroupa & Associates, 

1993. 

Cultural Participation in the Philadelphia Area, commissioned by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance 

through the William Penn Foundation, 1985, conducted by 

the Survey Research Center, University of Maryland, 

(directed by John P. Robinson) (ERIC No. ED263028). 

Marketing the Arts in Cleveland: An In-Depth Surve_v, commissioned by the Cleveland Foundation, 1984-1985, conducted by Ziff Marketing Inc., and Clark, Martire & 

Bartolomeo, Inc. 

Cleveland Arts Marketin~ Stud~­: The Outer Market, commissioned by the Cleveland Foundation, 1985, conducted by 

Ziff Marketing Inc., and Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo, Inc. 

Bay Area Research Proiect: A Multi-Cultural Audience 

Study for Bay Area Museums, sponsored by the Bay Area 

Research Consortium, 1994, research conducted by Museum 

Management Consultants, Adrienne Horn, Project Director. 

Summa~ Report: 12 Local Studies of Public Participation 

in the Arts, Research Division Report #26, National 

Endowment for the Arts, 1993, research conducted by Abt 

Associates and AMS Planning & Research Corp. (ERIC No. 

ED362452). 

Summa~ Report: Audience Research Consortium, (Ontario, 

Canada), 1993, (Art Gallery of Ontario, Royal Ontario 

Museum, Ontario Science Center, Metropolitan Toronto 

Zoo) research conducted by Ernst & Young, funded through 

the Ontario Government and the Canada Department of 

Communications. 
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A Practical Guide to Arts Participation Research, National Endowment for the Arts 

Research Division Report #30, was first published in 1995 under a cooperative arrangement between AMS Planning & Research Corp. (the author), and the National Assembly 

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