Context and Representation: Data Gathering Methodology for Soundscape Contextual Factors

Abstract

The contextual dimension of subjective perception plays a crucial role in moderating listener evaluations of soundscapes. While Soundscape indicators are directly measured and have numerically determinable measurement uncertainty, the surveying of subjective perception via soundscape descriptors presents methodological challenges pertaining to an indeterminate range of situational moderators which influence descriptor selection. Variations in subjective assessments by listeners have been shown to be correlated with factors such as perceived relevance of a sound source, whether the acoustic environment meets their pre-existing expectations, and familiarity. This paper addresses these methodological challenges by detailing a new data gathering strategy and analysis process for assessing the "interrelationships between person and activity and place, in space and time" (ISO 12913-1:2014). The methodology explored in this paper lends clarity to the dynamics of subjective evaluation within the surveyed population, by instrumentalizing a multi-level model of individual perception of physical environments, drawn from related studies in workplace sociology, anthropology, and organizational studies. This model of perception enables numerical analysis of written responses from listeners about their environment, revealing contextual factors which can moderate subjective perception of the sounds within the environment. This additional data can be applied to the development of conceptual frameworks during soundscape analysis.