I developed this survey as a way to formalise the conversations I have had during my research project. I want to capture different perspectives and experiences in order to develop a more robust approach to improving the workplace and support structures of female art technicians.
You can view an unfinished version of the survey HERE. Please note that this is a working process and a steep learning curve for me so if you have suggestions, get in touch.
When writing the questionnaire I took into consideration the approaches and methods of the studies listed below. I decided to structure my questionnaire into three parts. The first section, containing questions about an individual’s job, and work organisation; the second, ‘Training & development’ asks about career development, training needs, the third part asks about one’s professional community and support structures at and outside of work. There is also an ‘About you’ section, determining the demographics of the participants.
I was able to receive valuable feedback from a professional researcher – thanks to Art Tech Space for the connection – who advised me on how to develop the questionnaire and research methodology further. Although the questionnaire, even in its current draft stage seems like significant progress into the direction of formalising my exploration, something still makes me feel unsure about whether it’s the right tool to build the project.
As I had no previous experience of conducting a survey, first I looked at similar research done about the museum and gallery sector and/or about workplace satisfaction and organisation specifically. This was quite exciting as I had learnt a lot of new terms and approaches to research. I was an absolute beginner, so terms like ‘quantitative’ and ‘qualitative’ research were quite new to me. I had also developed an understanding of different aspects of work organisation and workplace satisfaction. I wanted to measure the psychosocial work exposure to measure how much control individuals have over their work and what support structures they have access to at work and outside of the workplace.
These are some of the studies I had looked at:
Ergonomic Conditions and Health at Gender Segregated Workplaces, Lena Karlqvist and Gunvor Gard, 2012
Character Matters: Attitudes, behaviours and skills in the UK Museum Workforce, BOP Consulting with The Museum Consultancy, 2016
Art Museum Staff Demographic Survey, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Roger Schonfeld, Mariët Westermann, with Liam Sweeney, 2015
Birmingham Production Space, Survey Results, 2014
