gBDkI

Another complementary field which has been mentioned frequently is social capital (Putnam
2000). The basic questions here are to ask: “How many clubs/or social groups do you belong
to?” and “How often do you attend meetings?” Once again readers are advised to obtain
specialist guidance before inclusion in a questionnaire. Both household expenditure and
membership of groups are core to cultural participation surveys. They also touch on other
important issues, such as civic participation and identity. For this reason, it is recommended that
survey designers examine other surveys which incorporate this topic. This way the questions will
be comparable with other surveys of related issues. For example, consumption of cultural goods
can be directly compared with expenditure on sanitation, while membership of civic societies and
other groups can be compared with membership of cultural groups.
Almost all surveys ask some questions regarding use of ICT. Most commonly they will ask about
the presence of ICT equipment in the home – mobile or smart phone (Korean surveys ask many
separate questions about smart phones and their uses) (UNESCO, 2011), laptop or desktop
computer, tablets, and camera. Some surveys go on to ask about uses of the devices especially
for downloading cultural content such as music. The Malta 2011 survey asks whether
respondents prefer to watch films at the cinema, on television, rented, or downloaded. While
many of these surveys are recording specific information about use of ICT for accessing and
producing cultural products, this area is a very technical one and statisticians would be well
advised to examine international standards for telecoms and their applications (UNESCO, 2011).
The above are the main topics covered by the majority of cultural participation surveys, which
are for the most part household surveys, though similar questions could be asked at particular
events or used in a general street survey.
Other topics which have been covered by particular surveys include: the subjects of books read
(Colombia 2008, Mexico 2010 and Malta 2012), kind of music listened to (Malta 2012),
uploading artistic products to the Internet (Malta 2012, EU 2007 and France 2008), selfperceived
ability to acquire cultural skills (e.g. learn a musical instrument) (Germany 2008),
happiness and wellbeing (EU 2007), respondents’ definitions of culture and its importance for
them (EU 2007 and Mexico 2010), cultural values (EU 2007), languages spoken/used (Malta
2012 and EU 2007), types of music which respondents do not like (France 2008), writing poetry
or prose fiction (U.S. 2005 and Mexico 2010), national pride (Mexico 2010), and lifetime
experience of arts education (U.S. 2009).
The very detailed Mexican 2010 survey also distinguished archaeological sites from museums
and other cultural sites visited. Only 6% of visitors to archaeological sites were students, of
which one-third studied archaeology. The New Zealand Cultural Experience Survey 2002
treated ‘places of importance to the Maori’ separately from other historical sites. This may be
because they are often less a ‘building’ than a ‘location’ which may or may not be associated
with a structure. The U.S. Participation of the Arts Survey 2008 made a point of identifying
whether respondents had been to galleries that sold art rather than simply exhibited it and
whether they were members of the gallery concerned.
Several countries included sport as part of cultural activities (Finland 2002, Chile 2004 and UK
2010). France (2008) includes hobbies such as collecting objects of all kinds. Latin American
countries (Colombia 2008 and Mexico 2010) have particular interests in literacy and reading
habits. Thus, the Mexican survey of 2010 included separate sections on visits to bookshops,
visits to libraries and reading habits. After asking about library visits, the New Zealand Cultural
Experience Survey 2002 gave separate treatment to visits to archives, perhaps because of their
significance to traditional Maori culture (the Spanish Survey of Cultural Habits and Practices
- 48 -