Methods for evaluating responses of children with outdoor environments

Abstract

Articles on children's environment during the past 26 years provide valuable insights into methods of evaluating outdoor environments. The paper presents a review of twenty studies on methods applied to elicit data of children's interaction in the environments. Generally, the methods can be categorized into two major types: visual and structured. The former comprises of behavioural mapping, photographing and observation which can be considered as qualitative. The structured method includes questionnaire, structured interviews and instruments which can be viewed as quantitative. Combining the visual and structured methods allow a researcher to construct the validity and reliability of the research design.