Decoding Turkmen Homes: Development of an Inventory for Measuring Meaning Organization

The meaning of Housing has been emphasized by many researchers in built environment. Most researches on the development of meaning mainly provided lists of references, categorizations, and meaning hierarchy in residential spaces. However, it seems that there are networks of relations among different dimensions of meaning that form its organization in housing. Such cognitive organization paving the way for spatial organization of spaces are in fact c the ultimate goal in dwelling design.
The aim of this study was to develop a valid, reliable and normalized scale to discover the organization of concept of dwelling in Turkmen settlement. The participants of the study were mothers of Turkmen households who lived in Gonbad e Qaboos. Sample size was estimated by Kline's method thus 410 mothers were selected by using a random multi-cluster sampling. Variables such as climate, family life circle, generational differences, gender, career and tribal bondages, urban or rural and housing typology were considered in sampling and statistical analyses.
Due to relative novelty of this study in Iran and lack of measuring instruments, it deemed necessary to develop a proper measuring questionnaire for the inquiry. The Survey Method was conducted where the results of a number of case interviews were collected and organized in a table called Content Goal Table. This latter table was used for the preparation of final questionnaire, which has 158 items. The questionnaire then was given and filled by the mothers of 410 families.
Descriptive and parametric statistical analyses were conducted. These included difficulty index, discriminative index, and loop technique, validity (face validity, translation validity, content validity, and construct validity (factor analysis), and reliability (Kuder-Richardson). The reliability of Turkmen Housing Meaning Organization Decoding Questionnaire by computing the Kuder-Richardson coefficient was 0.931. The factor analysis after rotation showed the value of cumulative variance of 0.728. These indicated that the questionnaire can explain 72.8% of Turkmen dwelling meaning structure by using the researcher-designed measures and about .44 of it is explainable by conceptual factors provided by this study. The factors were clarified and conceptualized into ten meaning factors. Each factor was defined in relation to other items and labeled appropriately. Validity of the factor's label was refined and determined by feedbacks obtained from the experts. The discovered factors are “obtaining social respect and approval”, “social belonging”, “relative social relationships”, “fulfilling of physiological needs”, “family stability”, “privacy”, “family belonging”, “spatial features of social relationships”, “placement of social interactions” and “individual satisfaction”. Overall, by considering the results of present study, Turkmen Housing Meaning Organization Decoding Questionnaire has decent reliability and validity, and is able to target Housing Meaning Organization appropriately in Turkmen cultural communities.
Limitations of the present study is the population subject as a special cultural group, conclusions are rationed to this group. Investigation of meaning was conducted on the mothers group, so generalization of findings to other family members should be done carefully. It is recommended for future researches to consider these limitations in order to embrace wider target groups.
Concerning the influence of meaning organization for promoting dwelling quality, it may be suggested to policy makers, designers, programmers and educators to apply this research instrument. While design programming and planning, designers can benefit from the methods and processes of discovering meaning organization to better fulfill occupants cognitive expectations with the residential spaces.