Applying Audience Response Systems (ARS) in Community-Based Research

Audience Response Systems (ARS) are a new technology that use “remotes” to instantly capture quantitative data and immediately show an audience their results. Responses are aggregated into bar graphs and displayed through Power Point. Its use in a community setting, particularly underserved populations, is very limited. ARS has proven successful and well-liked in a pilot project conducted at the Gathering of Neighborhood Voices Town Hall. ARS also presented some logistical challenges that were addressed and met. The Town Hall was held in Tampa, FL to discuss cancer health disparities among African-Americans and included an expert panel and community members in a dialog. ARS was used to assess basic pre and post knowledge, demographics, and satisfaction of the Town Hall. Both quantitative results and qualitative data were analyzed to assess how ARS was received by community members. Participants responded favorably toward the ARS, and enjoyed the added interactions that resulted from this approach. Importantly, participants stated that they felt “included in the research process.” ARS also addresses the ethical concerns of returning data to anonymous community participants. Several lessons were learned from utilizing ARS, including ensuring the importance of devising questions that accurately assess audience members; the need for researchers to become familiar with the technology before initial use; and the importance of using the remotes during only one portion of the event to ensure higher response rates. ARS holds great promise to enable communities to be more actively involved in the research process.