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1.8 Understanding one research project in the context of related research 13

government policymakers in countries such as the United States and Sweden. Many
more areas exist where public policies have been created that influence HCI research
work, often (and unfortunately) without the benefit of feedback from the HCI commu-
nity. These areas where HCI research has been impacted include laws and regulations
for human subjects research, standards for measurement, areas of research funding,
language requirements for interface design, data privacy laws, and specific domains
such as e-government, education, libraries, voting, and healthcare (Lazar et al., 2016).
Because there is not an existing lobbying infrastructure, or entrenched interests on
most HCI-related topics, this is a great opportunity for HCI researchers to have a true
impact on public policies. Furthermore, some governments have legal limitations on
how much data can be collected from citizens, so research studies (even a usabil-
ity test involving 25 users) can be logistically hard for government to implement or
even get approval for. However, the requirements of a university Institutional Review
Board are often easier, and therefore, HCI researchers can often do data collection
to inform policymakers, that a government agency may simply not be allowed to do.
When trying to perform HCI research with the target audience of public poli-
cymakers, there are some logistical considerations to be aware of. Policymakers in
general, are very concerned with the number of people who are impacted (e.g., how
many children or people with disabilities are within their representation area), and
which specific laws or policies relate to your HCI work. So, computer scientists tend
to make generalizations about items outside of computer science (e.g., “there is a
law” or “lots of people”) but research targeted towards policymakers needs to be
much more specific in terms of coverage. In general, policymakers like longitudinal
research, because they like to know the trends in how people are being affected (e.g.,
is the situation getting better or worse?). Furthermore, it is important to understand
the timelines of policymakers (e.g., when public comments are due on a regula-
tory process, when legislation is being considered, when legal proceedings occur),
because, unlike in academia where there is always another conference to submit to,
or another journal to submit your research to, when dealing with the timelines of
policymakers, often there is no flexibility and if you miss a deadline, you will have
zero impact (Lazar, 2014). Policymakers are not likely to communicate in the same
way as researchers, so if you think that you can have an impact by just emailing or
skyping with a policymaker, or sending them your research paper, you are mistaken.
Policymakers tend to work only via face-to-face contact, so if you want to build
relationships with policymakers, you need to schedule an appointment to meet with
them. You also would be wise to provide summaries of research, designed for people
who do not have a background in your area of HCI research (Lazar, 2014).

1.8 UNDERSTANDING ONE RESEARCH PROJECT IN THE
CONTEXT OF RELATED RESEARCH

There is no such thing as a perfect data collection method or a perfect data collection
effort. All methods, all approaches, all projects have a flaw or two. One data collection
effort does not lead to a definitive answer on a question of research. In scientific