Regarding your question, one of the new way to combine different methods is using mental maps or sketch map and analyzing them accurately by new software entitled "AMMA". For example in our case we wanted to examine the impact of the urban parks on thermal comfort perception of residents, so we collected information about people perceptions about park by mental maps and combine them by other micro climatic data which has been gathered.

I attached our article. In addition you can visit the website of AMMA software: www.arammma.com

I hope it would be a helpful.

Conference Paper Investigating the role of Retiro Park in creating the therma...

Regarding your question, one of the new way to combine different methods is using mental maps or sketch map and analyzing them accurately by new software entitled "AMMA". For example in our case we wanted to examine the impact of the urban parks on thermal comfort perception of residents, so we collected information about people perceptions about park by mental maps and combine them by other micro climatic data which has been gathered.

I attached our article. In addition you can visit the website of AMMA software: www.arammma.com

I hope it would be a helpful.

Conference Paper Investigating the role of Retiro Park in creating the therma...

Thank you so much Farshid for your answer.

Kind regards

Regarding your question and more in detail, the indoor thermal comfort assessment, the new direction is to consider ML approach in order to overcome the classical method of evaluation of thermal comfort, based essentially on a heat balance model, which is still a stronghold at least for the design phase. In monitoring campaign the environmental parameters are used to assess the standard indices of comfort. If users can return their Personal Thermal Comfort Perception (PTCP), these data can be used to verify, eventually, the discrepancy with traditional indices of comfort. So a dataset can be structured considering both environmental and biometric (if they are available) data and users' feedback. Defined the dataset it is possible to split it into two parts and some of the promising ML approaches can be used to train and validate the model used to define the target values (PTCP) starting from some imput features. Here below our papers concerning this topic:

Article Integrated Method for Personal Thermal Comfort Assessment an...

Article Application of IoT and Machine Learning techniques for the a...

I hope they can be useful.

Regards

Thank you Francesco for your answer which is very useful. This is my email:

[email protected].

Best regards

1. The basic frame should be system's approach

(see system's theory, systemology, soft system's methodology, fuzzy systems)

2. Impotant is linking of quantitative and qualitative methods in one unique methodological system (quality of relations between components/aspects, arbitrary gradation of qualitative values as auxiliary method for linking with quantitative values, etc.)

3. Recommendable is processual-dynamic (non-static) understanding of phenomena.

Thank you very much Igor for this explanation.

Wish you the best.

If relevant, I have a new computer app for net-positive design to bridge the gap between creative/qualitative and technical/quantitative approaches, using a digital multilayered diagram that combines the qualities of radar, spider and impact wheel diagrams. It can expand to include new issues. It will be provided for free on a website when the new book is published. Cheers, J.

thanks for your reply Janis, and congratulations on your new book.

Kind regards

This change must involve space users, through the knowledge of the most appropriate use of the proposed mechanisms or through the practice of attitudes based on "habitat intelligence"

Janis

Interesting proposal, although life is not mechanical, but adapts permanently, so the social aspect must be considered as essential in the design of spaces

Thank you Leticia, I agree with your point of view.

Best regards

I believe that combining forecasts can be a practical approach.Actually instead of trying to choose the single best method, one frames the problem by asking which methods would help to improve accuracy, assuming that each has something to chip in.

Dear Leticia and perhaps Ahmed (?) - where did you get the idea my work is mechanical or excludes the social? That is patently untrue, not to mention prejudiced and ignorant. I suggest that you begin your exploration of the field by a critical reading of the many works by many people on the subject, not just guess at what is or is not out there.

Dear Janis Birkeland

Thank you for your reply, I think there is a little misunderstanding in our answers, because I share the opinion that there must be both mechanical and social aspects of trying to study relationships: Human / environment, and that does not bring any judgment on your researches, on the contrary I find that you have well explained your point of view about this subject.

My apologies for this inconvenience.

Best regards

Look into research on parallel technologies. The below is in healthcare but the methodology is appropriate.

Tomasi J, Warren C, Kolodzey L, et al

Convergent parallel mixed-methods study to understand information exchange in paediatric critical care and inform the development of safety-enhancing interventions: a protocol study

BMJ Open 2018;8:e023691. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023691