Advanced HCI Theory & Methods

The Advanced Human-Computer Interaction module is part of the Masters course and refreshes and develops upon qualitative and quantitative research methods.

There were five assignments in total. The first four assignments involved creating a presentation and/or a report within a team.

1. Here a study was conducted which gathered data about the perceptual accuracy of throwing different weighted objects at targets while both blindfolded and not blindfolded.
2. Interviews about people’s daily physical activities were conducted and subsequently analysed and coded.
3. Research and presentation about diary studies.
4. Contextual inquiry and work models – this study was conducted within a bakery and one of it’s employees.

Final Project: This was an individual project with the requirement of examining transport and technology. I decided to conduct a study on the acceptance of technology in casual cycling. The study was composed of a short semi-structured interview and a cooperative design approach. This user-centered design approach involved sitting down with the user and giving them the tools to create their desired imaginary bicycle. These tools included a sheet showing a human body and a bicycle, some technology cards and tokens. The user was given the freedom to explore the design space and verbally explain their reasoning for their choices.

Afterwards the recorded videos and images were analysed, with the technologies created by the users being coded into ten themes. The top themes to emerge from the study included Safety, Comfort and Convenience.