Developing perceived quality of life indices : An application of ordered weighted average operators

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) studies typically focus either on aggregate measures of QOL variables using secondary data sources for aggregated spatial units or on primary data collected through sample surveys whereby individuals provide subjective assessments of QOL dimensions. This paper uses sample survey data collected in a 2003 survey of QOL using a spatially stratified sample design across the Brisbane-South East Queensland (SEQ) region, Australia's fastest growing metropolitan region in the ‘sun belt’. A ‘subjective-well being approach' has been adopted to explore a range of techniques for mapping inter-regional variability. Various aggregation operators— ‘Max’, ‘Min’, ‘Average’, Exponential ..