• Project number: F 2500
• Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
• Status: Completed Project

Description:

Public exhibition venues have an educational mandate. More and more research is being done into the communication of knowledge by exhibitions, helping to devise measures that improve how information is mediated in these settings.

This project was devoted to fundamental methodological issues, the aim being to drive ahead the professionalisation of the research conducted into knowledge communication at ongoing exhibitions. The project initially compiled a set of systematically classified, empirical research methodologies all aligned with a pragmatic, practical research ethos. These were further developed in order to investigate the communication of knowledge between an exhibition at the DASA Working World Exhibition and its audience, at the same time as exploring the different methodologies' implications.

Using predominantly qualitative, empirical methodologies made it possible to reach transferable findings about knowledge communication when the exhibition was studied. These findings will support reflection on practice and the conceptual work for future exhibitions. Furthermore, real-life evidence about the application of the developed methodologies was gathered, then built on to assess the various procedures’ suitability. Together with the systematically classified methodologies, this knowledge is available to support employees at exhibition venues in planning and conducting their own research projects.

Conventional procedures for reviewing the success of knowledge communication are complemented meaningfully by the empirical methodologies that were studied. It would therefore be advisable to expand the methodological spectrum by undertaking further fundamental research and continuing to translate its results into practice.

The positive response from those interested in visitor research, both inside and outside DASA, has affirmed that practically relevant research into exhibitions’ impact and intensive knowledge transfer activities should be continued as investments in the improvement of exhibitions.