Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction

by Jonathan Lazar, Jinjuan Heidi Feng, Harry Hochheiser

Continual technological evolution has led to an explosion of new techniques in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research. Research Methods in Human-Computer Interaction is a thoroughly comprehensive guide to performing research and is essential reading for both quantitative and qualitative methods. Chapters cover a broad range of topics relevant to the collection and analysis of HCI data, going beyond experimental design and surveys, to cover ethnography, time diaries, physiological measurements, case studies, and other essential elements in the well-informed HCI researcher's toolkit. “This book is a must read for anyone in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. The multi-disciplinarian approach, housed in the reality of the technological world today, makes for a practical and informative guide for user interface designers, software and hardware engineers and anyone doing user research.”
Dr. Mary Czerwinski, Research Area Manager, Microsoft Research, USA “Research Methods in HCI is an excellent read for practitioners and students alike. It discusses all the must-know theory, provides detailed instructions on how to carry out the research, and offers great examples. I loved it!” Professor Vanessa Evers, Professor, Human Computer Studies Lab, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands "The book is comprehensive, clear, and engaging! This is a one-stop HCI methods reference library. If you can only buy one HCI methods book, this is the one!"
Dr. Clare-Marie Karat, IBM TJ Watson Research, USA, and recipient of the 2009 ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Service Award “A much needed and very useful book, covering important HCI research methods overlooked in standard research methods texts.” Professor Gilbert Cockton, School of Design, Northumbria University, United Kingdom

Genres: Science, Design, Research, Nonfiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2009

Reviews

[Chris Branch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the coverage of the material seemed adequate, the style was less polished than I'd expect. The writing seemed uneven to me - in fact, I could be wrong, but I got the impression of different sections having been written by different authors. Subjects were not always presented clearly and some sections were wordy and repetitive. I also thought there was excessive reliance on tables of data without sufficient explanation of that data. Most importantly, the book didn't make me excited about the subject matter. And as someone who's clearly interested in HCI, since I'm taking masters level courses in the subject, I should be an example of the easiest target audience to excite.

I've been out of academics for a while so haven't read many textbooks recently, but I have read a substantial amount of non-fiction, especially science writing for the general public (Steven Pinker, Brian Greene, Richard Dawkins, Jared Diamond, etc.) Sure, those guys are big name writers, but I think it's fair to judge this book in comparison with theirs, especially given that textbook prices far exceed the prices of those types of books. Bottom line: this book doesn't measure up. I'd recommend that any prospective textbook authors read some popular books by any of those writers mentioned or others like them to see the standard that textbooks should be aiming for as far as being clear, informative, and engaging.

[Sunu Wibirama · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have chance to buy the paperback version, you will find this book useful to understand research papers and to design good research in human-computer interaction (HCI). You maybe need more practical statistical book, but this book is self-contained in explaining each research method (e.g. interview, diary, controlled experiment, etc.) as well as choosing appropriate statistical analysis. In the first chapter, the authors explained about a brief history of HCI, shifting of research topics in HCI, and multi-disciplinary background of HCI research. This book also explains how to design an informed consent, how to take care participants with disability for experiment, and how to get insight of data taken from eye tracking and ECG. Overall, I recommend this book for researchers working in HCI field.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid introduction to user research. Written at a low-ish reading level, so it's a quick way to get the high-level overview of the subject. My only complaint is that the authors' clear skill for clear explanations seemed to fail them when it came to the chapter on statistical analysis -- but there are plenty of better resources for that, if you really need the info.