A Combined Qualitative/Quantitative Approach to the Design of Noise Annoyance Studies
Invited paper
University of Southampton
Monday 1 june, 2015, 15:40 - 16:00
0.6 Madrid (49)
Abstract:
The objective of this paper is to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the
combined qualitative/quantitative approach for understanding community
attitudes to aircraft noise, and to illustrate the technique by describing
recent practical examples. Obtaining exposure-response relationships for
environmental and transportation noise which are capable of predicting actual
noise annoyance has been an elusive research goal for many years. The
traditional approach using large scale standardised questionnaire based
(quantitative) surveys has yielded very limited consistency based on low
statistical correlations which has nevertheless been generally accepted as
sufficient for strategic and administrative assessment purposes.
Unfortunately, the considerable differences in results observed between
different studies carried out under different circumstances do not justify
confidence in using harmonised relationships derived from meta-analysis for
any other purpose. In our recent experience, an initial qualitative approach
based on limited numbers of extended depth interviews is much more capable of
providing meaningful insights into community perceptions of noise than any
standardised questionnaire based approach, and can crucially transform the
detailed design of a subsequent, more traditional, quantitative study, if
statistically representative information is required.