Identify the expectations and perceptions of sonic environment using the text mining method

Abstract

The assessment for acoustic comfort in an urban space is not only based on the terms of sound level limit alone but also based on how one feels and understands the surrounding of their acoustic environment. This concept is known as soundscape. Several methods of soundscape assessment have been developed to gain a personal perception towards the acoustic environment. Previous research has shown that expectations are one of the possible elements to be considered in evaluating the soundscape. The context of expectation influences significantly because of the past experience that happened in the same space or location. This study intended to understand how similar the description of sonic environment between the expectations based on memory and assessment of perception on in situ, thus making the expectation context has a significant role in soundscape evaluation. Research is done by recalling participant's memories of a particular location and asking participants to describe and assess the acoustic environment. On the other hand, a group carries out the soundwalk method to assess the acoustic environment directly in the same location. Both assessments are based on the questionnaire with open questions given to the participants and analyzed using text mining method. The experiments were conducted in two ways, memory-based questionnaires and questionnaires based on in situ surveys which located in Braga, Bandung. In order to evaluate the context of expectations, the tests were performed without audio or sound exposure. The assessment is based on two categories: general identifications and specific identification related the sound in the location. As the result, the identification of sonic environment in the location has similar results descriptions when both methods are applied. The most top four used keywords that participant describes in both experiments are the same. The expectation can become a good tool to analyze soundscape without conducting the in situ experiment and also considered in evaluating the quality of sounds environment.