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20 CHAPTER 1 Introduction to HCI research

and semesters have focused on experimental design and, when you include all of
the statistical tests, this simply cannot be contained in one chapter. Chapter 4 can be
useful for methods other than experimental design (for instance, statistical analysis
is often used in survey research). And for researchers using statistical software and
advanced statistical analysis, additional reading resources are likely to be necessary.
Chapters 5 and 6 cover surveys and diaries, two key research approaches from
the field of sociology. While surveys are used far more often than diaries in HCI
research, there are some emerging research projects using the time diary method.
Again, a number of textbooks have been written solely on the topic of survey de-
sign. Chapters 7–9 are based on research approaches popular in the social sciences.
Case studies, interviews/focus groups, and ethnography have also been popular
approaches in business school research for years. The five research approaches in
Chapters 5–9—surveys, time diaries, case studies, interviews, and ethnography—are
often useful for understanding “why?” questions, whereas experimental research is
often better at understanding “how often?” or “how long?” questions.
Chapter 10 provides useful information on how to manage structured usability
tests, in cases where usability testing is a part of the package of research approaches.
Chapter 11 focuses on analyzing qualitative data, which might have been collected
from case studies, ethnography, time diaries, and other methods. Chapters 12 and 13
focus on methods of collecting research data through automated means. One method
is automated data collection indirectly from humans, through their actions on a com-
puter, including key logging and web site logs. The other method involves data col-
lection directly from humans through sensors focused on the body, such as facial
EMG and eye-tracking. While all of the chapters have been updated for the second
edition of the book, Chapter 14 is our chapter that is strictly new, focusing on online
data collection, crowdsourcing, and big data. Chapters 15 and 16 focus on issues
that arise in working with human subjects. Chapter 15 covers general issues, such
as informed consent, while Chapter 16 deals with issues specific to participants with
disabilities.
As with any overview of such a broad and rich field, this book is not and cannot
be exhaustive. We have provided content that provides a background understanding
on HCI research, and the processes involved with research, along with details on im-
plementing many of the methods. Where possible, we have tried to provide detailed
descriptions of how various methods can be used. For methods needing greater de-
tail for implementation (e.g., eye-tracking), we have tried to provide pointers to
more in-depth discussions, including examples of how those methods were used.
We hope that we have provided enough detail to be useful and informative, without
being overwhelming. We would love to hear from readers about areas where we
might have hit the mark, and (more likely) those where we've fallen short. At the
end of the day, we hope that you enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed
writing it! We hope that the book helps you in your journey, of doing HCI research
that has an impact on making the lives of computer users everywhere, easier, safer,
and happier!