Definition of Framework and Guidelines for IVR Applications

Despite a growing interest in VR-based study to support Building Occupants Research, the development of a mature and holistic science of Human-Centric indoor environments is still impeded by the lack of an agreed-upon conceptual framework. Concerning the need and relevance of a strict measure protocol, a comprehensive experimental framework is presented to organize and enhance the application of VR in building occupant research. The proposed experimental framework establishes pre- and post-trials procedures, based on well-known validation types of the research study (i.e., internal and external validity) and measurements (i.e., content, face and criterion validity). The former allows a strict experimental design to produce trustworthy data, the latter to organize the measurements, correlate the results with existing studies, and make general conclusions looking for a cause-effect relationship between variables. Practical suggestions for researchers are then provided.