The AAM Committee on Audience Research and Evaluation will continue the
tradition of a poster session and publication of Current Trends in Audience
Research & Evaluation, the collected papers from the session at the 1996 AAM
Meeting. The papers will be published and available for purchase at the
meeting in Minneapolis.

"Posters" describing a visitor study, survey, evaluation, or research project
are encouraged. Topics from any area of audience research and evaluation
including audience outreach, exhibit or program design, label and multimedia
design and content, public relations and marketing, school museum programs,
visitor learning, visitor services, wayfinding and orientation, are
appropriate. CARE welcomes the participation of staff, consultants, faculty
and students in all areas of the field.

If you would like to participate in the poster session, please send an
abstract of no more than 250 words describing your study. The abstract should
summarize the study, include procedures you followed to conduct it, and
describe how the information is being utilized. Be sure to include who should
be contacted for further information, the title of the study, and your
organization's address and phone number.

The deadline for poster proposals is February 1, 1996. Send proposals to Lisa
Hubbell Mackinney, Program Evaluator, California Academy of Sciences, Golden
Gate Park, CA 94118; tel. (415) 750-7011; FAX (415) 750-7013; e-mail
[log in to unmask]

Suggested outline for abstract (250 words or less):

-- Title of study
-- Institution, setting for study, dates of study
-- Goals of study
-- Procedures for study, who was sampled
-- Brief summary of research questions and/or findings
-- How information is being utilized

Name of contact person
Mailing address
Phone, FAX, e-mail

If your proposal is accepted, Lisa will notify you, and you will be asked to
submit copy for Current Trends (both hard copy and disk) by March 1, 1996 to
Zahava Doering, Smithsonian Institution Office of Institutional Studies.

Current Trends articles are usually 5-7 pages long and include:

-- Title and Author(s)
-- Introduction (project overview, background, purpose, goals)
-- Methodology (instrument, data collection, population, sampling)
-- Findings
-- Conclusions (discussion, recommendations, implications)
-- References

Some also include acknowledgments, sample instruments, graphs, or contact
information for authors. Zahava will review Current Trends articles and may
recommend revisions or formatting.