Experimental Research in Human-Computer Interaction and Gaming

Experimental Research in Human-Computer Interaction and Gaming

Dates of the course

8 – 12 November, 2010 on Monday to Friday from 9 to 16.

Organisers

John Paulin Hansen paulin@itu.dk and Georgios N. Yannakakis yannakakis@itu.dk

How to sign up

Please send an E-mail to John Paulin paulin@itu.dk if you wish to attend this PhD course.

Lecturer

Associate Professor, Scott MacKenzie, York University, Canada.
Scott Mackenzie's research is in human-computer interaction with an emphasis on human performance measurement and modeling, experimental methods and evaluation, interaction devices and techniques, alphanumeric entry, gaming, language modeling, and mobile computing. He has more than 100 publications in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (including more than 30 from the ACM's annual SIGCHI conference) and has given numerous invited talks over the past 20 years.
Since 1999, he has been an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at York University, Canada.

Course description

We are interested in developing and considering new methods of interaction for HCI and gaming and, equally, interested in testing their utility through appropriate methods of empirical research. Observation is the foundation of empirical research, and this generally implies gathering, summarizing, and analysing "measures" of user performance with a gaming device, technique, or environment. We will study common measures of user performance (e.g., number of targets hit) and develop new measures appropriate for particular interaction techniques.

Pedagogocal considerations

Attendees will learn the rudiments of experimental research through participation in hands-on activities that will include the basic components of "user studies", such as independent variables, dependent variables, counterbalancing, data gathering, and statistical significance testing.
Prior knowledge of statistics is useful, but not required.
A critical component of research is publication ("research is not finished until the results are published"). And so, this course will also teach attendees the core requirements in writing up the methodology and results of a research experiment in a format suitable for submission to a conference.

Readings before the course

1. Isokoski, P. and Martin, B., Performance of input devices in FPS target acquisition, Proceedings of the International Conference in Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology - ACE 2008, (New York: ACM, 2007), 240-241.

2. Klochek, C. and MacKenzie, I. S., Performance measures of game controllers in a three-dimensional environment, Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2006, (Toronto: CIPS, 2006), 73-79.

3. MacKenzie, I. S., Input devices and interaction techniques for advanced computing, in Virtual environments and advanced interface design, (W. Barfield and I. Furness, T. A., Eds.). Oxford, 1995, 437-470.

4. McArthur, V., Castellucci, S. J., and MacKenzie, I. S., An empirical comparison of "Wiimode" gun attachments for pointing tasks, Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Engineering Interactive Computing Systems - EICS 2009, (New York: ACM, 2009), 203-208.

5. Natapov, D., Castellucci, S. J., and MacKenzie, I. S., ISO 9241-9 evaluation of video game controllers, Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2009, (Toronto: CIPS, 2009), 223-230.

6. Schlomer, T., Poppinga, B., Nenze, N., and Boll, S., Gesture recognition with a Wii controller, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction - TEI 2008, (New York: ACM, 2008), 11-14.

7. Whitson, J., Eaket, C., Greenspan, B., Tran, M. Q., and King, N., Neo-immersion: Awareness and engagement in gameplay, Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on Future Play: Research, Play, Share, (New York: ACM, 2008), 220-223.

Program of the entire course

Monday

• Welcome: overview of the course ; research topics in user interfaces, gaming, and interaction techniques ; role of experimental research
• Elements of experimental research: empirical inquiry ; research vs. engineering ; experimental vs. non-experimental research ; observation and measurement ; testable research questions ; internal and external validity
• Models of interaction descriptive ; predictive ; examples

Tuesday

• Design of HCI experiments: choosing a topic ; independent and dependent variables ; tasks and measurements ; within-subjects vs. between subjects ; learning effects ; counterbalancing ; selecting participants ; choosing appropriate tasks ; examples of experiments in gaming and human-computer interaction
• Group participation: a “real” experiment ; complete results of the experiment

Wednesday

• Data analysis : creating summary data tables ; creating effective charts and graphs ; ANOVA simplified ; other statistical tools
• Writing a research paper : ACM conference format ; parts of a research paper ; organization and flow ; citations and references ; how to write an abstract ; how to present and discuss results ; tips for successful submissions

Thursday

• Design of student experiments: roundtable discussion and brainstorming; variables and tasks discussed and selected; details of experiment procedure
• Template for student paper: explained with core headings and points added

Friday

• Student presentations: PowerPoint presentations; design of experiments detailing independent and dependent variables, tasks, and procedure
• Closing remarks

Additional information

Following up (for students who will get 1 extra ECTS point):
Students expand a template file into paper in ACM conference format ; introduction expanded ; abstract, results, discussion, and conclusion added ; paper submitted two weeks after end of course

Prerequisites

Except for the papers above, that has to be read before taking the course, there are none.

Exam

By presentation of the results of an experimental design on Friday

ECTS Credits

3,5 ECTS for students preparing for the course by reading the list of required literature and by participating in the full week program (see above)

Students who submit a paper to Scott MacKenzie two weeks after the end of the course will get 1 additional ECTS point.