Hitchings, R (2009) Studying thermal comfort in context. Building Research & Information, 37(1), pp. 89-94. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
This commentary considers the recent Building Research Information special issue titled 'Comfort in a Lower Carbon Society' and what it suggests about how to conduct contextual studies of thermal comfort. Firstly, consideration is given to the places within which comfort is examined and how research might beneficially trespass beyond the borders of the building to explore how lifestyles combine various places with a range of social expectations and techniques for managing personal temperature. Secondly, the suggestion is that whilst it could be worthwhile to examine various lifestyles, contextually sensitive researchers must select the groups they study carefully and acknowledge the limitations associated with this choice. Thirdly, it considers which practical methods are most appropriate for this line of research and how existing approaches could be supplemented by techniques currently uncommon in this field. The overall argument is that qualitative approaches with groups of current users could identify the most sensitive ways of steering societies towards more sustainable thermal futures.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adaptation; agency; comfort; lower carbon society; occupant satisfaction; qualitative methods; sustainable consumption |
| Index terms: | consumption, agency, comfort, thermal comfort, occupant satisfaction, qualitative approach, qualitative method, adaptation, lifestyle, building research, society |
| Subjects: | consumer economics, user focus, research design and methodology, user-centered design, research methods, communities and social development, environmental engineering, demography, occupational health and safety management, sociology, research management |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Urban Studies, Sustainability, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Health and Safety |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here