Document-based Analysis

In the first component, the document-based content analysis, the content and needs of both museum ,studies programs and art museum programs were studied using existing publications. The goal was to obtain a fundamental knowledge of the demands of working at art museums and of current museum studies programs.

To understand the content of museum studies programs in general, the primary data was published program descriptions from institutions that offer art-related museum studies programs in the United States. This information was obtained from the following sources: (1) AAM's (1999) 1999-2000 Guide To Museum Studies arul Training in the United States; (2)Peterson's Guide to Graduate Programs in Business, Education, Health and Law (2001); and, (3) each selected institution's web sites as they were available. The significant information was their mission statements, the course design, and established affiliations with art museums.

In order to grasp an idea of the current demands in the art museum job market, the study focused onjob descriptions in the art museum fields in the United States. The primary data was material gathered from Aviso, identified by Olsen (personal communication, February 28, 2(00) as the major source ofjob information in the museum field. It provides the latest AAM activities, services, and guidelines. It is also known as the museum professionals' job bank. Each issue provides an average of 125 job advertisements for museum-related positions (AAM, 2000, Aviso, para. 1). I focused on the job descriptions of the addressed five positions, namely executive director, curator of exhibitions, curator of collections, curator of education, and development officer in art museums. Basic requirements, job loads, and structure in relation to the art museum as a whole were the main concerns. The purpose was to have a basic understanding of what the art museum requested from people who are interested in museum careers.

Patterns created categories based on the job descriptions. Another set of categories was established based on the design of course work. Pairing the results from both sides (museum studies and art museums), I measured whether the goals from each are in accord with one another.