Dr. Staples’ lengthy comments [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 104, 1726–1728 (1998)] deal less with the matters of research design or data analysis described by Fidell et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 2909–2918 (1996)] than with her beliefs about the proper study and interpretation of aircraft noise effects in outdoor recreational settings. Her comments nonetheless raise several interesting issues related to the role of technical expertise in noise-related policy analyses. This response therefore concentrates on those of Staples’ comments and arguments that are of general interest, while only secondarily addressing certain inaccuracies and oversimplifications in them.

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