DOI: 10.5061/dryad.z612jm6j3
title: Research designs examining the benefits of nature exposure

description: This dataset records features of the research design and methodology used
 in 125 studies examining the benefits of nature exposure for human
 wellbeing. 
description: To identify studies that examined the benefits of nature exposure
 for human well-being, we conducted a search in Clarivate’s Web of Science
 (WoS) database on August 22, 2022 using the following Boolean search
 terms: (“greenspace” OR “green space” OR “bluespace” OR “blue space”) OR
 ((“nature” OR “nature-based”) NEAR/1 (“experience*” OR “expos*” OR
 “connect*” OR “immers*”)). We stratified our sample by the following time
 periods: 2009-2010, 2011-2011, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019-2020
 and 2021. We screened the resulting lists of citations to exclude reviews
 and non-empirical work, studies that reported impacts solely on the
 physical environment (e.g., land surface temperature, air pollution
 levels), and studies reporting purely qualitative measures. We selected
 top-cited papers as well as a random selection of papers within each time
 period, yielding a total of 125 studies. We carefully reviewed the full
 text of the sampled articles. For each study, we recorded the number of
 citations according to the WoS database, the location (nation) of the
 study population, the sample size, the methodology employed, the kinds or
 dimensions of nature to which subjects were exposed, and the outcomes
 assessed. To ensure inter-reviewer consistency, each paper was
 independently scored by at least two people, and any discrepancies were
 resolved.
description: # Research designs examining the benefits of nature exposure
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z612jm6j3](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z612jm6j3) This dataset records key features of 125 published studies examining the human well-being benefits of exposure to nature or "green space." ## Description of the data and file structure The dataset records 17 variables for each of 125 published studies. * **Citation:** Full journal citation for each study. * **Period:** The year of publication, recoded to the following periods: 2009-2010, 2011-2011, 2013-2014, 2015-2016, 2017-2018, 2019-2020, and 2021. * **PaperType:** We sampled the most highly-cited papers (*TopCited*) and a random selection of papers (*Random*) within each Period. * **Cites:** The number of citations as reported by Clarivate’s Web of Science (WoS) database on August 22, 2022. * **Nation:** The nation(s) in which the study was performed. * **SampleSize:** The number of human subjects or geographic regions studied, as reported in each publication. * **SampleType:** Explains whether SampleSize is the number of human subjects (*individuals*) or regions (*geographic areas*). * **StudyType:** Records whether the study was *manipulative* (subjects were assigned to varying types or durations of nature exposure) or *observational* (subjects were not assigned to treatments). * **ExposureDuration:** For manipulative studies only, the duration of the nature exposure condition or treatment (minutes). * **NatureExposureQuantified:** For both manipulative and observational studies, *X* indicates that the frequency or duration of nature exposure was quantified in some way, including self-reports. * **CrossSectional\_or\_Longitudinal:** For observational studies only, *CrossSectional* indicates that the study reports on subjects at a single point in time. In contrast, *Longitudinal* studies related a measure of nature exposure to an outcome at multiple time points for the same individuals. Longitudinal studies included observational designs comparing subjects pre- versus post-exposure, as well as studies that used GPS-enabled questionnaires to repeatedly assess subjects’ wellbeing across varying locations. * **VirtualReal:** For manipulative studies only, records whether the nature experience was *Real* (living nature, including exposure to indoor plants and views of outdoor greenness) or *Virtual* (exposing subjects to images, sounds, or other non-living representations of nature)? Studies that compared exposure to real versus virtual nature were coded as *Both*. * **SubjectsKnownToBeOutdoors:** *X* indicates that the subjects in the nature exposure treatment were explicitly known to be outdoors. * **OutcomeType:** Codes whether the reported data for human well-being were *objective* (e.g., memory test, medical records, physiological metrics), *subjective* (opinion surveys and all self-reported information), or *both* (a combination of objective & subjective metrics were recorded). * **Biodiversity**: *X* indicates that the study design explicitly assessed how the biological diversity of nature relates to human well-being. * **Trees:** *X* indicates that the study design explicitly assessed how the presence or abundance of trees relates to human well-being. * **NDVI:** *X* indicates that the study design explicitly assessed how NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; a remotely sensed measure of greenness) relates to human well-being.