156 - How to Measure Personal Appraisals; Using an example of Measuring Meaningfulness in Museums

Abstract Information: The evaluation field relies heavily on personal appraisals. We need right-holders, users, and clients to be able to accurately evaluate themselves and their feelings of worth or significance. Many evaluations begin with opinions but can be taken deeper into measuring latent (unseen) concepts such as self-esteem, anxiety, sense of belonging, inclusion, meaningfulness, etc. Measures of latent concepts are challenging to create and go far beyond typical surveying. For example: instead of creating 10 survey items about a concept (i.e. sense of belonging) you are attempting to create 10 items that are indicators of that concept resulting in a mean score that designates differing levels of said concept. Thus, creating a reliable “ruler” of that concept to measure where people feel like they are at. The process to create and test the validity and reliability of such a measure is extensive. It begins with a qualitative process to define and discover indicators of the concept of interest. Then multiple rounds of survey item design followed by pilot studies and a larger field administration. This poster will demonstrate this process through an example of a new measure of Meaningful Experiences in Science Museums (funded by IMLS Museums Empowered, Measuring What Matters: Building Capacity to Evaluate Meaningfulness in the Visitor Experience: ME-249540-OMS-21, Principle Investigator: Ellen Roth).