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3.1.1 An operational definition of cultural participation
Building on the content of the previous chapters, we consider that measuring cultural
participation means measuring and understanding quantitative and qualitative aspects of the
participation in any activity that, for individuals, represents a way of increasing their own cultural
and informational capacity and capital, which helps define their identity, and/or allows for
personal expression.
This definition gives a key role to the meanings associated by an individual to the practices s/he
engages in. It does not make any a priori distinction between indoor and outdoor activities, nor
between active, passive and hybrid forms of participation. It encompasses a variety of practices
and is adapted to the specificity of each individual case, an element of which, as mentioned in
Chapter 1, is crucial for any survey on cultural participation.
The distinction between passive attendance and active participation (Brook, 2011) is a crucial
distinction which must be taken into account in the design of any cultural participation survey,
which should record and performance separately. However, caution should be urged as
participation has more of an active meaning in English but can be more passive in Romance or
Latin languages (e.g. French and Spanish). Nonetheless, several EU surveys distinguish
between attending a concert (of music) and playing a musical instrument (in public) as an
amateur or professional.
Cultural practices, disciplines, activities and all other details should be defined case by case,
according to goals, resources, state-of-the art and other issues. This should happen through a
preliminary discussion involving:
� the commissioning body or institution (e.g. ministry/ministries) and the organization or
professional in charge of the survey;
� professionals from non-statistical disciplines (e.g. sociology, intercultural
communication, arts organizations) and from outside the political field
(e.g. universities, independent research and knowledge centres); and
� representatives from different cultural groups of potential respondents, including
minorities, people of different mother tongues, urban and rural societies.
This should help ensure that the definitions adopted are likely to be understood by the
population surveyed and correspond to actual cultural practice, so that the results are
meaningful for statistical, political and practical purposes.
3.2 Basic methods of studying participation
The study of cultural participation can be carried out through different methodological
approaches and methods, according to the objectives, variables considered to be of interest,
depth of the analysis and available budget. In the following pages, the main approaches
available for quantitative and qualitative measurement will be reviewed.
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