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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 4
Publication Date: April 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.84.10021.
Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design
and Construction: A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used
in Design and Construction: A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study
Ryan P. Barone
School of Education, Colorado State University, United States
James H. Banning
School of Education, Colorado State University, United States
Stephanie A. Clemons
Department of Design and Merchandising, Colorado State University
United States
ABSTRACT
Since its formal introduction in 1967, the concept of post-occupancy evaluation
(POE) has been the focus of several substantial books as well as being addressed in
key professional journals. In addition, specific POE endeavors related to private and
government projects have issued reports of their work. Despite this attention,
college and university graduate research work on POEs has not been explored. The
purpose of this meta-study using document analysis is to explore the characteristics
and implications of college and university graduate POE research focusing on
design/construction by analyzing the abstracts of graduate master’s theses and
doctoral dissertations that substantially utilized the concept of POE. Results are
reported by addressing the characteristics of the research degrees (location/place,
type, year, institution, methods associated with the degree, and status of
publication) and the characteristics of the research (settings, and focus). The article
concludes by calling on the design/construction fields to explore ways to support a
greater focus on the communication/coordination and dissemination of
international graduate POE research.
Key Words: post-occupancy evaluation, meta analysis, qualitative research,
design and build
INTRODUCTION
The evaluation of building design and construction after completion has been an integral part
of improving human spaces since the earliest days of developing the built environment. Van de
Ryn and Silverstein’s (1967) groundbreaking research analyzed residence halls at the
University of California at Berkeley using an environmental analysis methodology indicating
that the typical, new dormitory design was woefully inadequate. With the publication of this
study the concept of POEs emerged to form a solid foundation in design/construction work.
Post-occupancy evaluations gather human-focused evidence such as occupants’ perceptions
and metrics to determine whether buildings are working as intended. The POE is viewed as the
“cornerstone” of building performance and analysis helping illuminate the impact of these
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
dimensions on human behavior (Vischer, 1989). In addition to improving the quality of
buildings examined by a POE process, there needs to be a “systematic dissemination that is
useful and accessible to practitioners and researchers ...” of the findings. (Preiser, 1989, p. 1).
The purpose of this study was to answer the question, “What can we learn from the examination
of graduate research abstracts that make substantial use of the concept of post-occupancy
evaluation in design/construction?” Lessons learned by addressing this question can inform
practitioners of various design/construction fields as well as higher education students and
instructors in these fields.
METHODOLOGY
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study Framework
A meta-study framework (Lipsey & Wilson, 2001) explores and synthesizes completed research
from multiple studies for the purpose of addressing a specific research question. Many of these
studies fall under the rubric of quantitative meta-analysis (Glass, 1976), but a qualitative
approach can also be an important strategy (Major & Savin-Baden, 2010; Noblit & Hare, 1988)
when researchers seek to analyze studies for common themes. The qualitative framework
analyzes an array of studies for common themes including the examination of the
characteristics of the research as demonstrated by Paterson, Thorne, Canam, and Jillings
(2001). For our study, we used a qualitative meta-study framework bounded by the specific
research genre of abstracts of graduate research resulting in a master’s degree or doctoral
degree. In using a bounded qualitative meta-study approach, we adopted the specific meta- study framework used successfully in several recent studies on education research, including
Banning and Folkestad’s (2011) study of education-related dissertations on science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the study of construction management
dissertations (Glick, Folkestad, & Banning, 2016).
Methods and Procedures
Bounding the sample
To formally bound our sample within the genre of higher education graduate research
abstracts, a query was run in the Global ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis database.TM The
criterion for inclusion in the study was that the search term “post occupancy evaluation”
needed to appear in the title and/or abstract of the thesis or dissertation, therefore insuring the
POE concept was a substantial aspect of the study. One hundred and eight graduate research
projects met this criterion.
Data analysis
Qualitative document analysis (QDA) (Altheide, Coyle, DeVriese, & Schneider, 2008) served as
the primary analytical approach within our meta-study framework. QDA is a form of qualitative
content analysis which examines documents in both deductive and inductive approaches
(Altheide, 1987) as opposed to strict deductive coding and numerical analysis typically
associated with quantitative content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004). Within the QDA framework,
template analysis (King, 1998) was used as the coding strategy. In this method, a priori
(deductive) codes are used along with new codes produced through an inductive approach to
the data.
The a priori codes for our study were type of degree, year of degree, awarding institution,
location of institution, research methodology used, and publication status of the research. Our
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thematic analyses of the dissertation topics utilized an inductive coding strategy. From each
research abstract, setting and focus codes were induced. From the listing of these codes, a
thematic structure regarding the topical nature of the research was induced using the constant
comparative method (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). To ensure trustworthiness of the inductive
coding process, the strategies of peer debriefing and triangulation of researchers are used
(Creswell, 2009).
Results
In Appendix A, each of the 108 research studies are presented and organized by the setting of
the POE activity. In addition, the following description of the results are organized by
summaries of the characteristics of the graduate POE degree including place and type of degree,
year of the degree, research methods associated with the degree, and publication status of the
degree. In addition, the results section provides a summary of the characteristics of the
research induced by the data analysis. The two inductive themes are settings of the research
activity (Table 1) and the focus of the POEs (Table 2).
CHARACTERISTICS OF GRADUATE POE DEGREES
Place and type of degree
Of the 108 graduate degree POE research studies 47 degrees were granted in the United States
(U.S.) and 61 degrees were earned at outside of this country. The United Kingdom (U.K.)
produced 33 studies followed by China with 15 and Canada with 11. One degree each was
awarded from the Netherlands and Qatar. Across these 6 countries, 65 different institutions
awarded the degrees. The University of Nottingham (U. K.) and the University of Minnesota (U.
S.) had the largest number of degrees awarded with five each. Fifty-seven percent of the
institutions awarded only one degree during the 40-year time period of the study. Fifty-seven
of the graduate degrees were at the doctoral level and 51 were master’s degrees. The graduate
degree POE studies are organized by setting (office setting, health facility,
education/entertainment, K-12, housing/residential, outdoor settings, education/higher
education, commercial and conceptual process) and are presented in Appendix A.
Year of the degree
The first reported degree focusing on the POE came in 1979. The most productive years were
from 2010 through 2016. During this six-year period nearly half of all the degrees were
awarded. In most years less than five degrees were granted, but for unknown reasons 2011 was
the most productive year with 12 graduate degrees.
Methods associated with research degree
Diversity was present in the methodology of the conducted research. Eighteen of the studies
used a quantitative methodology that included some type of statistical analysis. An exemplar is
Buckhart’s (2016) master’s POE thesis evaluating the daylighting in a new LEED platinum
laboratory building. Buckhart (2016) conducted an observation of interior shade positioning
and usage and then took measurements off illuminance, glare, and spectral power distribution
using a handheld illuminance meter. Findings include the effectiveness of the building’s
daylighting design is dependent on the use of shades or lack thereof, notably that occupants are
not optimally adjusting the indoor environment to maximize daylighting potential (Buckhart,
2016).
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
Qualitative strategies were used in 17 of the studies employing the analysis of interview data.
A qualitative exemplar is Daniel’s (2013) master’s thesis analyzing literature from five fields:
women in development/gender and development; gender, space, and status literature;
ergonomics; proxemics; and participatory design. Daniel (2013) asserts that no design is
gender neutral and that gender neutrality perpetuates women’s inequality. The thesis
concludes with a new adapted Gender Integrated Design Checklist (Daniel, 2013).
Seventeen of the studies use a mixed design strategy. Lee’s (2007) doctoral dissertation, a POE
of four dog parks in Texas and Florida offers an exemplar of a mixed-methods design. The study
employed a multiple-method approach to data collection including site observations and
analysis, a questionnaire, and behavioral mapping (Lee, 2007). Results noted the dog parks
received substantial use by a variety of demographic groups, that users were generally satisfied
with the parks, and that proximity is a critical factor in the likelihood of frequent dog park use
and user satisfaction (Lee, 2007). Finally, the remainder of the studies reported using non- manipulated data gathered from the POE interventions or were conceptual in nature without
data collection. Of the 108 studies, 18 or 16% of the studies were located as being published in
academic journals in the Google Scholar TM database.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POE RESEARCH
Study settings
The setting categories were inductively created from the analysis of the research abstracts.
These categories are helpful in organizing the 108 studies, but the categories are “fuzzy” not
“crisp” (Ragin, 2000) and some studies suggested more than one category. In final classifying
of each study, the judgment was based on the researcher’s perceptions of “best fit.” Table one
presents the graduate studies by setting and their distribution across countries.
Focus of studies
The categories within the focus of study theme were also inductively created from the study
abstracts. Again, these categories are “fuzzy” not “crisp” (Ragin, 2000). The four categories that
were induced include user satisfaction, specific elements, user behavior, POE design
processes/issues (see Table 2). The most used category was user satisfaction regarding the
implementation being reviewed by the POE. The focus was on the satisfaction of the use.
Specific element included studies where the focus was sharper on the specific element of the
design/construction work. Examples of this category were primarily building performance
related and included topics such as wayfinding, thermal comfort, sustainability, energy
consumption, lighting, and visual privacy. User behavior category included studies where the
focus of the POE was more directed to the behavior of the users, rather than a positive or
negative response to the design intervention. The final category of POE design processes/issues
category included studies that were focused on processes and issues related to the
implementation and use of POEs. These studies were often more conceptual in focus.
DISCUSSION
Diversity was the most evident theme induced by the analysis. There was a diversity in location
of the research with significant international work, multiple countries, and a wide array of
institutions granting the degrees. Diverse methodologies were employed including the
traditional quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods plus non-manipulate data approaches.
A wide range of settings was included in the research and the foci of the POEs also reflected
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diversity. This diversity of research location across the globe and varied methodological
approaches highlight the importance and broad appeal of POEs in graduate research.
Also included in the theme of diversity were the methods of data collection. The most used
strategy was the data collection from the user. This included the typical paper and pencil survey
approach as well as semi-structured qualitative interviews. Often both strategies were used in
a mixed methods approach. What appeared to be missing was the use of more advanced data
collection technology. Only three of the abstracts mentioned strategies such as photographs,
online surveys, or sensory feedback devices. Use of cell phone feedback applications for the
immediate data collection and feedback did not appear in the research.
The diversity of the research also raised challenges. A major challenge for the fields of
construction and design is that despite the studies reporting the usefulness of the POE process,
only a few of these studies have been published (only 16% in professional journals), therefore
limiting the dissemination purpose of the POE. Given that the 108 studies were produced by 65
different higher education institutions with only two institutions producing at least five studies
during the 40-year period, there would also appear to be a challenge and an opportunity for an
institution or a design/construction organization to step forward and provide a robust
leadership role in POE graduate research.
SUMMARY
A bounded qualitative meta-study framework was used to examine master’s theses and
doctoral dissertations abstracts found in the Pro Quest Dissertation and Thesis Global TM
database from the first publication in 1979 through 2019. The findings provide an overview of
the characteristics of the POE graduate research. Findings include the following characteristics:
POE graduate studies represent a global interest in the concept with over 50% of the studies
conducted outside the US, diversity of settings and diversity of the POE foci was evident,
diversity in the institutional base for the research was also evident, 65 different institutions
produced research degrees, and diversity was also present in the methodology of the research.
The challenge for fields of construction and design are that while the studies reported the
usefulness of the POE process, few of these studies have been published therefore limiting the
dissemination purpose of the POE which is critical to the professional fields as well as the
instruction and research of academic programs.
References
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
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APPENDIX A
Graduate POE Research Studies by Setting
Office settings
Al Nasa'a, R. (2007). Post occupancy review of comfort conditions at Heelis, central office building for the national
trust (UMI No. U593638). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Al-Saleem, Y. (1992). Evaluating the performance of government office buildings from the users' perspective: A case
study of the ministry of foreign affairs headquarters building in Saudi Arabia (UMI No. 9232469). [Doctoral
dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Bauer, T. R. (2015). Employees' satisfaction with indoor environment quality associated with primary and
alternative workspaces in office environments (UMI No. 10005050) [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Bhawani, S. (2010). Post occupancy evaluation: Development of an instrument and a process to assess occupant
satisfaction in renovated university office settings: A case study approach (UMI No. 1488083). [Doctoral
dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Birchall, S. J. (2011). An appraisal of the performance of a ‘green’ office building (UMI No. U580351). [Doctoral
dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Choi, S. (2011). The relationships among indoor environmental quality, occupant satisfaction, work performance,
and sustainability ethic in sustainable buildings (UMI No. 3490637). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Dimitrokali, E. (2015). Environmental performance evaluation of heating and cooling between sustainable and
conventional office building (UMI No. 10298506). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations
& Theses Global database.
Elmualim, A. A. (2003). Evaluating the performance of windcatchers for natural ventilation (UMI No. U177823).
[Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Frank, O. L. (2014). Exploring a best practice approach to operability and maintainability of low carbon buildings
in the UK (UMI No. 10043662). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Karnas, F. G., JR. (1984). State offices on aging: Integrating programmatic and environmental concerns in human
service delivery (evaluation, participation) (UMI No. 8425780). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Khatami, N. (2014). Retrofitted natural ventilation systems for a lightweight office building (UMI No. 10088609).
[Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Kiamba, L. N. (2016). Optimizing environmental design strategies to improve thermal performance in office
buildings in Kenya (UMI No. 1779966030). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global database.
Kloth, S. S. (1996). Employee satisfaction with the work environment: Importance of facility services (UMI No.
1379739). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lee, Y. (2007). The relationship between indoor environmental quality and worker satisfaction and performance in
leadership in energy and environmental design certified buildings (UMI No. 3292959). [Doctoral dissertation].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
Mafimisebi, B. I. (2017). A model for reducing energy consumption in existing office buildings: A case for Nigeria
and United Kingdom building owners & facilities managers (UMI No. 10959229). [Doctoral dissertation].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Mallory-Hill, S. (2004). Supporting strategic design of workplace environments with case -based reasoning (UMI
No. C818460). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Moon, J. (2016). Considering occupants: Comprehensive POE research on office environment of southern California
(UMI No. 11016890). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Plummer, M. (2005). Winter performance of large naturally ventilated offices (UMI No. U594225). [Master’s
thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Singh, V. (2011). Analysis methods for post occupancy evaluation of energy-use in high performance buildings using
short-term monitoring (UMI No. 1491907). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global database.
Soules, M. J. (2014). Employees' satisfaction as influenced by acoustic and visual privacy in the open office
environment (UMI No1585285). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Vanhoozer, A. D. (2014). NASA Ames sustainability base case study: Behavioral effects of net - zero energy facility
developments in workplace and residential environments (UMI No. 3668394). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available
from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Health facility
Abushousheh, A. M. (2012). Organizational & environmental complexity: Evaluating positive deviance in long-term
care (UMI No.3520593). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Durosaiye, I. O. (2017). A framework for the assessment of nursing tasks and environmental demands (UMI No.
10767759). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Erfani, K. (2017). Post-occupancy evaluation of fountain house: A study on an alternative healthcare facility (UMI
No. 10276791). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Fleischer, A. I. (1995). Post-occupancy evaluation of independent living units in congregate senior housing facilities
(UMI No. 1377566). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Kader, S. (2016). Development of hospice environmental assessment protocol (HEAP): A post occupancy evaluation
tool (UMI No. 10144016). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Lee, J. H. (2006). Post occupancy evaluation of assisted living facility (UMI No. 3254373). [Doctoral dissertation].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lin, S. A. (2015). Looking good, feeling better, doing great: Post-occupancy evaluation report on health care
professionals' workplace satisfaction (UMI No. 1603773). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations
& Theses Global database.
Minckley, W. F. (1982). Architectural psychology in the spatial setting for the treatment and training of the
mentally retarded (UMI No. 8220781). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global database.
Movahed, A. (1995). Physical and environmental features that contribute to satisfaction with hospice facilities (UMI
No. 9542388). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Okpanum, I. (2011). The role of design guidelines for accident and emergency facilities in south Africa (UMI No.
U563684). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Pham, T. A. (2015). Hospital facility design: A guide to space planning for a new general hospital in Vietnam (UMI
No. 3733983). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Tinner, M. (2016). Perceived importance of wellness features at the upstate cancer center: Patient and staff
perspectives (UMI No. 10169535). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Wakelam, S. M. (2015). A post occupancy evaluation of the education spaces at the Ngeruka health center in
Rwanda: Can the design of the built environment effect healing? (UMI No. 1604672). [Master’s thesis]. Available
from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Education/entertainment
Cunningham, L. M. (2000). Breaking down the barriers: Making national hockey league arenas more accessible
(UMI No. MQ66981). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Hamilton, J. M. (1993). Post-occupancy evaluation of an innovative zoo exhibit: Caldwell zoo case study (UMI No.
1352940). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Jie, X. F. (2010). The post occupancy evaluation study (UMI No. 10538565). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lloyd, D. A. (1982). The use of post occupancy evaluation in architecture programming the university of Alberta's
collection center (UMI No. ML26403). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Ridgway, S. C. (2000). Visitor behavior in zoo exhibits with underwater viewing: An evaluation of six exhibits in the
western united states (UMI No. 1403179). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global database.
Shettel-Neuber, M. (1986). Zoo exhibit design: A post-occupancy evaluation and comparison of animal enclosures
(UMI No. 8613447). {Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Shen, F. (2006). Post occupancy evaluation of theatres around Hangzhou Gulf (UMI No. H425857). [Master’s
thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Tingey, L. (2012). Post-occupancy evaluation at the zoo: Behavioral and hormonal indicators of welfare in
orangutans (UMI No. 1531942). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Wallace, R. M., Jr. (2003). Design standards for a high school museum resource center (UMI No. 3133709).
[Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Xu, J. (. (2007). The post-occupancy evaluation of shanghai grand theater (UMI No. H475580). [Master’s thesis].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Zheng, S. L. (2010). A post occupancy evaluation on audience area of china national centre for the performing arts
(UMI No. 10539772). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
K-12 education
Chen, Y. (2016). Rethinking of design excellence via building performance: With particular reference to the Riba
award-winning schools in the UK (UMI No. 10304909). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
Crowell, N. (1980). Vocational facilities: The influence of teacher involvement in planning and other key elements in
the design process upon subsequent teacher satisfaction as determined by post occupancy evaluation (UMI No.
8101587). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Houle, R. E. (2002). A post-occupancy evaluation of children's needs in the kinsmen play village from a universal
design perspective (UMI No. MQ76774). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Issa, M. H. (2011). The Canadian green building initiative: Post occupancy evaluation of Canadian green schools
(UMI No. NR92844). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lee, K. K. (1999). Heritage oak school: From obscurity to international recognition. A historical case study in
participatory school facility planning (UMI No. 9924234). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Marley, J. (2012). Photovoice for post-occupancy evaluation: Students explore health in a sustainable school (UMI
No. 1517050). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Mehta, A. (2016). Post occupancy evaluation (POE) of LEED K-12 schools in the USA (UMI No. 10241319).
[Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Newman, M. (2010). Post occupancy evaluation of primary schools: A multi-stakeholder perspective (UMI No.
10023899). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Powell, M. A. (2015). Reacting to classroom design: A case study of how corrective actions impact undergraduate
teaching and learning (UMI No. 3705035). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global database.
Wei, W. (2003). An investigation into the relationship between daylighting quality and quantity for school buildings
in Hong Kong (UMI No. 3077700). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Housing/residential
Aldakheel, R. M. (1995). Residents' satisfaction with public housing: The case of Buraidah public housing
development in Saudi Arabia (UMI No. 9542784). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations
& Theses Global database.
Behloul, M. (1991). Post occupancy evaluation of five story walk up dwellings: The case of four mass housing estates
in Algiers (UMI No. U041136). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Betru, M. A. S. (2005). Post occupancy evaluation: A comparison between deign and occupation case studies: Public
housing alterations in Tripoli (UMI No. 10905464). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations
& Theses Global database.
Blight, T. (2015). Low-energy domestic architecture: The impact of household behavior on the expected energy use
of passive house dwellings (UMI No. 10093910). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global database.
Brassard, R. D. (1993). Innovative land development standards: A post-occupancy evaluation of RPL zoning in
Edmonton using parametric and multiple regression analyses (UMI No. MM81769). [Master’s thesis]. Available
from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Bustard, P. (2003). A post-occupancy evaluation of the Cornell new urbanist community in Markham, Ontario (UMI
No. MQ81049). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Clark, S. (2019). Architectural reflections on housing older people: Nine stories of retirement-living (UMI No.
27680403). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Evans, M. (2013). An investigation into occupants' satisfaction in UK sustainable social
housing (UMI No. U611121). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Goh, A. T. (2010). Courtyard housing in the UK: Potentials for high density-low energy urban housing (UMI No.
U558745). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Haynes, T. D. (2012). Deflating the big bad wolf: Homeowner perceptions of straw bale construction in northern
Arizona (UMI No. 1531516). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Holland, R. (2006). The experimental application of an occupant tracking technology in domestic post-occupancy
evaluation (UMI No. U220197). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Hormazábal Poblete, N. A. (2013). Post occupancy evaluation of homes in the United Kingdom to develop an
affordable p.o methodology for homes in Chile (UMI No. 10043608). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
McClain-Kark, J. (1985). User participation in passive solar housing design (Interior design, owner-built, solar
energy, post-occupancy evaluation) (UMI No. 8608276). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Smales, L. M. (1991). An appraisal of the history, impact and effectiveness of the Essex Design Guide for residential
areas (UMI No. U042707). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Szibbo, N. A. (2015). Livability and LEED-ND: The challenges and successes of sustainable neighborhood rating
systems (UMI No. 3720885). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Voisin, K. (2005). Living up to the hype? an investigation of the promises and realities of new urbanism in Cornell,
Markham (UMI No. MR14601). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Von Niessen, C. (1990). The density and design of townhouse developments (UMI No. MM61182). [Master’s thesis].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Zhao, J. (2018). Lived experiences of passivhaus occupants using a grounded approach (UMI No. 13840625).
[Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Outdoor settings
Chen, J. (2011). Study on the design and reconstruction of free urban parks with the post occupancy evaluation
(UMI No. 110558168). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Huang, W.D. (2010). Study on post occupancy evaluation in Guangzhou free open park. (UMI No. 10332744).
[Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Hu, L. H. (2010). Study on post occupancy evaluation of barrier-free facilities in central area of Beijing Olympic
Green (UMI No. 10336662). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Huo, J. T. (2009). Post occupancy evaluation of samples of Guangzhou city recreation squares (UMI No.10396364).
[Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
Kocs, E. A. (2013). Finding nature in the city: A case study of ecological restoration in an urban park (UMI No.
3601882). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lee, H. (2007). A study of use patterns, user satisfaction and willingness to pay for off -leash dog parks: Post- occupancy evaluations of four dog parks in Texas and Florida (UMI No. 3281100). [Doctoral dissertation].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Mai, A. (2019). Responding to the emotional needs of resettled refugees in the context of community gardens (UMI
No. 27630536). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Walker, K. (2011). Developing a site evaluation framework for ephemeral festivals and events: A study of hillside
festival (UMI No. MR80025). ([Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Whitehouse, S. L. (1999). Healing gardens and coping with stress at a children's hospital: A multimethod evaluation
(UMI No. 9940690). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Education: higher education
Andersson, C. D. (2001). Designing for design: A post-occupancy evaluation of the department of landscape
architecture at the Swedish university of agricultural sciences, Ultuna, Sweden (UMI No. MQ61868). [Master’s
thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Burkhart, K. L. (2016). Daylighting study of a LEED platinum laboratory building: A post-occupancy evaluation
comparing performance in use to design intent (UMI No. 10800762). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Chen, J. (2011). A post-occupancy evaluation study on the Gishan campus planning of Fuzhou University (UMI No.
10576173). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Dulom, D. (2013). Post occupancy energy evaluation of Ronald Tutor Hall using eQUEST; computer-based
simulation of existing building and comparison of data (UMI No. 1538694). [Master’s thesis]. Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Ning, M. J. (2011). A post-occupancy evaluation study on Nanjing Institute of Technology's cluster-typed jiangning
new campus planning (UMI No. 10573148). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global database.
Okkels, R. (2007). Post-occupancy evaluation of educational building with downdraught cooling (UMI No.
U594203). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Commercial
Fang, J. (2010). Research on post-occupancy evaluation of main building of new type railway station (UMI No.
10362047). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Li, L. L. (. (2006). The Post Occupancy Evaluation Study of City Commercial Pedestrian Street Based on The View of
Urban Design (UMI No. H347040). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
database.
Liu, L. (2011). A post-occupancy evaluation report on the built environment of Kunming Jinmabiji commercial plaza
(UMI No. 10513676). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Mekhlafi, S. A. (2017). The shift from souqs to malls a socio-spatial analysis in Doha and Jeddah (UMI No.
10285882). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Middlehurst, G. (2019). An assessment of indoor environmental quality and occupant physiological factors for the
development of an enhanced post occupancy evaluation model (ePOE) (UMI No. 27748131). [Doctoral
dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Wang, D. N. (2005). Economic cost of thermal discomfort and its application in building
environmental control (UMI No. 3210332). (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global database.
Whitfield, M. M. (2013). Turn left at the station: How safety and wayfinding influences the transit user's experience
(UMI No. 1542536). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Conceptual/process
Cormier, D. A. (1979). A programmatic approach to post-occupancy evaluation (UMI No. MK46102). [Master’s
thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Daniel, G. (2013). Designing for gender equality in the developing context: Developing a gender-integrated design
process to support designers' seeing, process, and space making (UMI No. 1542349). [Master’s thesis]. Available
from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Kassim, P. S. J. (2004). The bioclimatic skyscraper: A critical analysis of the theories and designs of Ken Yeang (UMI
No. U181686). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Lam, F. K. (2011). Simulating the effect of microclimate on human behavior in small urban spaces (UMI No.
3499000). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Maitland-Scheetz, A. (2016). On the edge (UMI No. 10253435). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Meigh, J. (1996). Facilities management: The role of post occupancy evaluation (UMI No. U1011657). [Master’s
thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Monfared, I. G. (2012). Importance of scale format, respondents’ attitude, and temporal effects in post-occupancy
evaluation survey (UMI No. 10073910). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Global database.
Moultrie, C. M. (2010). Architectural design principles and processes for sustainability (UMI No. U613800).
[Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Parpairi, K. (1999). Daylighting in architecture: Quality and user preferences (UMI No. U120738). [Doctoral
dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Paterson, D. I. (1995). Post occupancy evaluation and the facilities manager: An examination of the extent to which
POE is conducted in the UK by facilities managers (UMI No. U101661). [Master’s thesis]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Riley, M. (2013). Developing a model for the application of post-occupancy evaluation (poe) as a facilities
performance enhancement tool in the higher education sector (UMI No. U614023). [Doctoral dissertation].
Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global database.
Williams, T. (2013). The management of renewable energy technologies implementations within a contracting
organization’s processes (UMI No. 13875898). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global database.
Yu, T. W. (2007). A value management framework for systematic identification and precise representation of client
requirements in the briefing process (UMI No. 3265624). [Doctoral dissertation]. Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global database.
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Barone, R. P., Banning, J. H., & Clemons, S. A. (2021). Graduate Research Abstracts of Post-Occupancy Evaluations Used in Design and Construction:
A Bounded Qualitative Meta-Study. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(4). 136-149.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.10021
TABLE 1
Graduate research studies by setting and national location
United
States
United
Kingdom
China Canada Other
Setting
Office Setting 11 9 0 0 1
Health Facility 11 2 0 0 0
Education/Entertainment 5 0 4 2 0
K-12 Education 5 2 1 3 0
Housing/Residential 4 10 0 4 0
Outdoor Setting 4 0 4 0 0
Higher Education 2 1 2 1 0
Commercial 2 1 3 0 1
Conceptual/Process 3 8 1 1 0
Totals 47 33 15 11 2
TABLE 2
Graduate research studies by study focus and national location
Focus United States United
Kingdom
China Canada Other
User Satisfaction 20 4 7 4 0
Specific Element 14 16 1 2 0
User Behavior 7 3 2 2 1
Design
Process/Issues
6 10 5 3 1
Totals 47 33 15 11 2