HCI Theory and Research Methods - Einzelansicht

The course introduces students to the different types of research methods commonly used within HCI research, from quantitative experimental studies to qualitative research methods and mixed method strategies, and present case studies as examples illustrating the use of these methods. As these methods all come from different directions, it provides an overview of the different (interdisciplinary) perspectives within HCI. The focus of this course is on qualitative methodologies and what is important for these both on a practical and theoretical-conceptual level.

Students will get to know a variety of methodological approaches (interviews, observation, questionnaires, ethnography, field studies, diary studies, experience sampling) and gain practical experience in utilizing a selection of these methods through practical assignments and mini-projects, and through work with the research literature. They will further learn about different data analysis strategies, gain an understanding of the different quality criteria inherent to qualitative versus quantitative style research, and of how to productively combine qualitative and quantitative methods in a research strategy.

The course will furthermore show how the role of theory in HCI has expanded from the early days of human factors and mathematical modelling of behaviour to include explanatory and generative theories, which reflect influences from fields such as design, sociology, and ethnography.

Successful students should be able to

-      appreciate the diversity of research methods and relate them to research paradigms and theory

-      select research methods appropriate to the domain and research question, based on an understanding of the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, and practical demands of methods 

-      reflect on ethical aspects of study design

-      utilize a range of HCI research methods and approaches to investigate a research question 

-      design, plan, and organize user studies and interpret the data

-      report and present user studies and findings properly

-      relate the role of theory in HCI to the expanding range of methodical approaches utilized for HCI research

The course will introduce students to the different types of research methods commonly used within HCI research in order to study and understand people, from quantitative experimental studies to qualitative research methods and mixed method strategies, and will present example case studies illustrating the use of these methods. The focus of this course lies on qualitative methods (e.g. interviews and observation) and qualitative data analysis (that is, approaches which do not rely on statistical analysis). You will gain practical experience in utilizing a selection of these methods through practical assignments and mini-projects, and will work with the research literature.

The course will furthermore provide an overview of how the role of theory in HCI has expanded from the early days of human factors and mathematical modelling of behaviour to include explanatory and generative theories, which reflect influences from fields such as design, sociology, and ethnography.


Successful students should be able to
-    appreciate the diversity of research methods and relate them to research paradigms and theory
-    select research methods appropriate to the domain and research question, based on an understanding of the characteristics, strengths and
     weaknesses, and practical demands of methods  
-    utilize a range of HCI research methods and approaches to investigate a research question  
-    report and present user studies and findings properly
-    relate the role of theory in HCI to the expanding range of methodical approaches utilized for HCI research

Due to the current situation, the course will be taught online, with a Moodle page as main entry point where you find all further details and access to contents and sessions. Please prepare for a mix of synchronous teaching (where you need to be online at specific times) and asynchronous delivery.

We will start with recorded lectures, but might switch to live-lectures (if this proves to work out). We plan to run the practical sessions in real-time via University online platforms. We also plan a half-hour real-time check-in session per week for discussion and questions. Provided in-person teaching may be allowed again, we may do a few in-presence sessions later in the semester, if this does not leave out any of the participants.

Students need to organize themselves into small groups for assignments and should thus be able to communicate, at least remotely, with each other.

Main texts (in excerpts):

Lazar et al. Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction

Cairns & Cox. Research Methods for Human-Computer Interaction. Cambridge Univ Press

Yvonne Rogers, HCI Theory. Morgan & Claypool

Additional readings:

Andy Field and Graham Hole. How to Design and Report Experiments. Sage

Uwe Flick. Introduction to Qualitative research. Sage 2014

Zeit und Ort werden zu Projektbörse bekannt gegeben!

practical assignments in group work, individual short mini-essays, and final practical mini-project (individually) with report (at end of semester).

Master Human-Computer Interaction

Master Computer Science and Media /Computer Science for Digital Media