Meng, Su, et al. “Objective Assessment Of Urban Built Environment Related To Physical Activity — Development, Reliability And Validity Of The China Urban Built Environment Scan Tool (CUBEST).” BMC Public Health 14.1 (2014): 1-22. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.
The article details a study aiming to develop a tool to accurately and objectively assess environmental features’ effect on physical activity. The study resulted in the creation of the CUBEST, the China Urban Built Environment Scan Tool. The tool was tested by having auditors inspect six areas of three types in the city of Hangzhou to test the reliability of the tool. Pairs of auditors independently evaluated each of the districts at the same time. And then repeated the evaluations after a two week period. Inter-rater reliability was tested by comparing the results of the two different auditors, and the intra-rater reliability was tested by comparing each auditor’s original assessments against the second evaluation two weeks later. Inter-rater reliability was above .8 while the intra rater reliability was above .04. By the end of the test the 41 item CUBEST proved itself a reliable tool for evaluation through its scores.