In this final chapter we look at the academic discipline of HCI. Often the methods of academic research in HCI and those used in UX design are similar, particularly in regard to user research practices and evaluation. However the purposes are different: in the latter case we are solving immediate issues, in the former we try to bring out wider principles or understanding. That said, a reflective designer will glean general lessons from their practical experience and the results of academic HCI research will inform practice. There is sometimes an apparent conflict within HCI research between quantitative work such as lab-studies, data analysis or statistics, and more qualitative methods such as ethnography, but in fact these often offer complementary views of the same phenomenon, building a holistic view of human activity. National bodies and institutions increasingly encourage more interdisciplinary research. HCI has always straddled the boundaries of different forms of knowledge; this can be challenging, requiring an open-mind and dealing with colleagues with more focused interests, but it is also exciting and deeply rewarding.
Contents
- Research purpose
- Ethical research practice
- Ethics approval processes
- Over and beyond approval
- Reporting research
- Research cultures
- Gathering and analysing data
- Similarities and differences
- Qualitative and quantitative
- Research by making — systems and devices
- Crossing boundaries
- An interdisciplinary field
- From research to practice
- From practice to research
- The universal coder
- The next step
- Chapter Keypoints
- Additional reading
Glossary items referenced in this chapter
3D printed, action research, AI tools, Alvey funding programme, anonymise, bad ideas, BHCI, breakdown, Buxton's homunculus, claims analysis, closed questions, command line interfaces, completion times, conversational user interfaces, creativity techniques, datasets, design implications, DigitalDesk, end-to-end reaction times, envisionment, estrangement, evidence-based usability guidelines, experimental methods, externalisation, front-end developers, graphical user interfaces, Heath Robinson, Interact, interdisciplinary, intersubjectivity, interviews, just-in-time theories, laboratory experiments, lash-up technology, literature reviews, maker culture, mechanism, MMI, multiple coders, observation, online evaluation, open access publication, open questions, open-ended research, open-ended studies, preregistration, prototype, provotype, recoding dialectic, recognition rather than recall, reflective practitioners, reflective stance, responsible innovation, scenario, simulated data, sketch, spurious correlations, subjective assessment, subjective experiences, surveys, tacit knowledge, technology probe, The Conversation, theoretical models, think aloud, transparent statistics, ui architecture, ui toolkit, Usability Practitioners Association, validation, Xerox EuroPARC