Center for Health Facilities Design and Testing, School of Architecture, Clemson University, SC, USA.
Department of Parks Recreation, Tourism and Management, Clemson University, SC, USA.
HERD. 2020 Jul;13(3):11-25. doi: 10.1177/1937586720924787. Epub 2020 May 21.
We propose a methodological framework to use immersive virtual environments (IVEs) in head-mounted displays for environmental design research.
IVEs offer researchers with experimental control and realistic representations of environments with high levels of ecological validity. IVEs are also increasingly being used to visualize proposed designs. Despite these tremendous benefits, IVEs are underutilized in environmental design research. We are unaware of preexisting frameworks that synthesize the methodological decisions related to the use of IVEs to conduct environmental design research.
METHODS/RESULTS: We define the concepts necessary to conduct IVE research (virtual reality [VR], IVEs, ecological validity, visual realism, behavioral realism, and contextual realism). We also summarize the available study designs (correlational studies, experimental studies, and performance evaluations) and software systems used to create IVEs. We conclude with a conceptual framework that describes how research questions and study designs inform IVE selection and ecological validity. This framework is accompanied by a workflow that operationalizes the creation and use of IVEs in research.
VR provides a robust and innovative research strategy for environmental design research because of its high degree of experimental control, rich data collection options, and opportunities for systematic evaluation of alternative design configurations.
我们提出了一种使用头戴式显示器中的沉浸式虚拟环境（IVE）进行环境设计研究的方法框架。
IVE 为研究人员提供了实验控制和具有高度生态有效性的环境的真实表示。IVE 也越来越多地用于可视化拟议的设计。尽管有这些巨大的好处，但 IVE 在环境设计研究中的应用仍未得到充分利用。我们不知道现有的综合框架，这些框架综合了与使用 IVE 进行环境设计研究相关的方法决策。
方法/结果：我们定义了进行 IVE 研究（虚拟现实 [VR]、IVE、生态有效性、视觉真实性、行为真实性和上下文真实性）所需的概念。我们还总结了用于创建 IVE 的可用研究设计（相关研究、实验研究和性能评估）和软件系统。最后，我们提出了一个概念框架，描述了研究问题和研究设计如何为 IVE 选择和生态有效性提供信息。该框架附有一个工作流程，该流程将 IVE 的创建和使用付诸研究实践。
由于其高度的实验控制、丰富的数据采集选项以及对替代设计配置进行系统评估的机会，VR 为环境设计研究提供了强大而创新的研究策略。
