What people do, feel and say when they meet a work.
Ways in
Surveys, experiments, interviews, ethnography, reception theory.
The longer story
Audience response is where works meet publics. Reception theory examines how readers complete texts. Empirical aesthetics measures response. Fan studies investigates intense engagement. Survey research maps participation patterns. The 'same' work produces different responses in different viewers. What happens in the encounter between work and audience? That's where meaning is made.