Dataset for "Multisensory experience and perceived restorativeness in campus environments for students with visual impairment"

This dataset accompanies the manuscript entitled "Multisensory experience and perceived restorativeness in campus environments for students with visual impairment." It contains the original questionnaire response data collected from students with visual impairment enrolled in special education schools across China. The study investigated how non-visual sensory experiences (auditory, tactile, and olfactory) relate to perceived restorativeness in campus settings, and examined the roles of sense of security and spatial auditory ability as antecedent variables in a structural equation model.
The dataset comprises 369 valid responses (from 387 collected, after quality control) organised in a single Excel file. Each row represents one participant, identified by an anonymised respondent ID. The file contains 41 substantive columns spanning six constructs. Auditory experience (3 items), olfactory experience (3 items), and tactile experience (4 items) were measured using scales adapted from the Destination Sensescape Index. Perceived restorativeness was assessed across four dimensions—fascination (3 items), being away (3 items), compatibility (3 items), and extent (3 items)—drawn from a perceived restorativeness scale validated for public environments. Spatial auditory ability (3 items) was measured using items adapted from the Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing questionnaire for individuals with visual impairment (SSQvi). Sense of security was captured through two dimensions: interpersonal security (5 items) and certainty in control (6 items), based on the Chinese Sense of Security Scale. All scale items were rated on Likert-type response formats. Demographic variables include age group (coded 1–5, ranging from 10–13 to 26+), gender (1 = male, 2 = female), level of visual impairment (1 = total blindness, 2 = light perception, 3 = low vision), and data collection method (1 = online, 2 = on-site).
Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey design, with an instructor serving as an interviewer to ensure participants with visual impairment accurately understood each item. All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of Shenyang Jianzhu University (No. 2024SJZU-A024-a). The dataset supports the structural equation modelling and related analyses reported in the accompanying manuscript.