HCI 445 User Research Methods
Summary
HCI 445 is a graduate level course that surveys methods for learning (collecting and analyzing data) and communicating about users and their tasks. Methods used for learning about users include observation (contextual inquiry and task analysis), interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Methods used to communicate and summarize user data include personas and high level scenarios. Methods will be practiced as course projects.
Texts
Goodman, E., Kuniavsky, M., and Moed, A. (2012). Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research (2nd Edition). San Francisco, CA: Elsevier.
Optional (suggested):
Lazar, J, Feng, J.H., and Hocheiser, H. (2010). Research methods in Human-computer Interaction. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Salkind, N. J, (2010). Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics (Fourth edition). Sage Publications: San Francisco, CA, USA
Grading
There is a total of 100 available points (see assignments for distribution).
Grading Scale:
94 - 100 A
90 - 93 A-
88 - 89 B+
84 - 87 B
80 - 83 B-
78 - 79 C+
74 - 77 C
70 - 73 C-
68 - 69 D+
64 - 67 D
60 - 63 D-
See class website for rubrics
Prerequisites
HCI 440
Week by week schedule
Week 1: Introduction, overview of HCI research methods
Week 2: Observation methods.
Week 3:Interviews. Recruiting. Inductive analysis of qualitative data. Writing reports/executive summaries.
Week 4: Communicating and summarizing user data and their tasks: personas/profiles.
Week 5: Communicating and summarizing user data and their tasks: scenarios, task-user matrix. Survey design
Week 6: More survey design. Experimental designs and basic descriptive stats. (We will be in the lab this week)
Week 7: Quantitative data analysis for surveys (and basic inferential stats). Deductive coding of qualitative data. (We will be in the lab this week)
Week 8: Focus groups. Diary studies.
Week 9: Guest speakers
Week 10: Final presentations
Week 11: Take home final.
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.
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