Effects of Scale, Question Location, Order of Response Alternatives, and Season on Self-Reported Noise Annoyance Using ICBEN Scales: A Field Experiment

Mark Brink, Dirk Schreckenberg, Danielle Vienneau, Christian Cajochen, Jean-Marc Wunderli, Nicole Probst-Hensch and Martin Röösli
Additional contact information
Mark Brink: Federal Office for the Environment, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
Dirk Schreckenberg: ZEUS GmbH, D-58093 Hagen, Germany
Danielle Vienneau: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Christian Cajochen: Centre for Chronobiology, Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Jean-Marc Wunderli: Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
Nicole Probst-Hensch: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland
Martin Röösli: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: The type of noise annoyance scale and aspects of its presentation such as response format or location within a questionnaire and other contextual factors may affect self-reported noise annoyance. By means of a balanced experimental design, the effect of type of annoyance question and corresponding scale (5-point verbal vs. 11-point numerical ICBEN (International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise) scale), presentation order of scale points (ascending vs. descending), question location (early vs. late within the questionnaire), and survey season (autumn vs. spring) on reported road traffic noise annoyance was investigated in a postal survey with a stratified random sample of 2386 Swiss residents. Our results showed that early appearance of annoyance questions was significantly associated with higher annoyance scores. Questionnaires filled out in autumn were associated with a significantly higher annoyance rating than in the springtime. No effect was found for the order of response alternatives. Standardized average annoyance scores were slightly higher using the 11-point numerical scale whereas the percentage of highly annoyed respondents was higher based on the 5-point scale, using common cutoff points. In conclusion, placement and presentation of annoyance questions within a questionnaire, as well as the time of the year a survey is carried out, have small but demonstrable effects on the degree of self-reported noise annoyance.

Keywords: road traffic noise; noise annoyance; survey methodology; ICBEN scales; context effects; season; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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