ABSTRACT
The national museums and galleries in the UK account for one-third of the visits and one-third of the staffing involved in museums. They are substantially funded by central government and therefore carefully monitored. Yet the measure of any museum’s performance is a difficult affair as it involves both quantitative and qualitative judgements. However, there are some fairly straightforward approaches to looking at museums, of which the counting and profiling of museum visitors is one. This form of research is dependent on questionnaire survey, which is not without its shortcomings. Nevertheless, useful data can be generated.
