IRR: Human-Computer Interaction

Human-Computer Interaction

What is your topic area? 

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is multidisciplinary field of study focusing on the design of computer technology and, in particular, the interaction between humans (the users) and computers. Initially concerned with computers, HCI has expanded covering now almost all forms of information technology design.

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What differentiates your programme area (or sub area if you have multiple interviews) from the other programmes on the Informatics MSc portfolio?

The field of HCI covers a wide range of topics, and its development has relied on contributions from many disciplines. Some of the main disciplines which have contributed to HCI are: Computer Science, Psychology, Ergonomics/Human Factors, Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology, Engineering and Design. The goals of HCI are to produce usable and safe systems, as well as functional systems. A key belief in HCI is that people using a computer system should come first. Their needs, capabilities and

preferences for conducting various tasks should direct designers and developers in the way that they design systems. People need not change themselves in order to fit in within the system. Instead, the system should be designed to match their requirements.

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Are there go-to sources to find reviews and perspectives on these research topics. i.e. are there any good review journals that are worth browsing to get topic overviews?

You can find HCI reviews in the ACM Computing Surveys  (https://dl.acm.org/journal/csur) or in a series of journals and conferences  - see some of them below.

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What are the key journals or conferences in the field for finding high quality research papers in these topics?

Journals:

Conferences:

  • Computer Human Interaction (CHI)
  • ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work & Social Computing
  • IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing
  • ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human Robot Interaction
  • International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces
  • ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction
  • Conference on Designing Interactive Systems
  • Conference on Interaction Design and Children
  • More here: https://research.com/conference-rankings/computer-science/2021/human-computer-interaction

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Are there any particular high profile or rapidly growing research areas in the programme that you would suggest might be worth looking at for potential IRR themes. (List three or more otherwise every IRR will be in that same area)?

  • AI for Accessibility
  • Assistive technology
  • Computer-supported collaborative learning 
  • Computer-supported cooperative work 
  • Context-aware computing 
  • Multimodal user interfaces 
  • Ubiquitous computing/Smart environments 
  • Gestural interfaces 
  • Tactile and haptic user interfaces
  • Healthcare 
  • Human-robot interaction 
  • Serious games 
  • Participatory Design

 

Contributor: Aurora Constantin

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Last update: 22 October 2021

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