6-10/7/2015- Summer School in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) at Cyprus University of Technology (Limassol, Cyprus)

The overarching aim of this summer school course is to improve participants’ understanding of significant research methods commonly or increasingly used in the field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI).

Together with a shift of emphasis from usability engineering to user experience (UX) design where users’ values, feelings and needs are regarded as important as their task-oriented performance, HCI appears to have become a cauldron in which research methods from associated disciplines are brewed.

Lecturers of the summer school course include:
- Dr. Chee Siang Ang, University of Kent
- Dr. Duncan Brumby, UCLIC, University College London, UK
- Dr. Jettie Hoonhout, Philips Research, Netherlands
- Dr. Yiannis Laouris, Future Worlds Center, Cyprus
- Dr. Fernando Loizides, Cyprus Interaction Lab, Cyprus
- Rajiv (Raj) Arjan, Google, UK

The course will cover topics like:
1. Data collection approaches: experiments, interviews, questionnaires, observations, structured dialogue design.
2. Data analysis: quantitative data analysis (including statistical techniques), qualitative data analysis (including text, audio, video).

The lecturers will be addressing questions, such as:
a) How can qualitative and quantitative research methods be best synergized?
b) Which principles need to be observed when contextualizing a research method originated from a specific discipline to HCI? Are there any viable guidelines enabling such contextualization?
c) How would the methodological landscape evolve when the research areas in HCI metamorphose in every five or even three years?
d) Are there any “uncharted waters” where HCI professionals can get further inspirations and resources for developing new research methods to address interdisciplinary problems of increasing complexity and scope?

The summer school is organized by:
- Prof David Lamas, Tallinn University, Estonia
- Prof. Panayiotis Zaphiris, Cyprus University of Technology, Cyprus
- Dr. Effie Lai-Chong Law, University of Leicester, UK

Participants

The course mainly targets PhD students, however others with relevant background or interests are also welcome to join.

Credit points

Upon full participation students will be awarded 4 ECTS points.

Course fee

The participation fee is 400 EUR (300 EUR for students) and does not include accommodation or meals. Optional accommodation in local student housing costs 135 EUR and must be requested when registering for this course. NB! You do not need to make a separate booking, a pre-booking has already been made for the summer school participants.

A number of scholarships covering participation fees and/or student housing are available. You can apply for a scholarship until May 15 by sending: your course registration reference, a motivation letter, the contact details of two persons from who we can ask recommendations, and a CV to HCI-SS2015@cyprusinteractionlab.com.

Contact

Information regarding the course content and scholarships: HCI-SS2015@cyprusinteractionlab.com
Registration: tss@tlu.ee

Acknowledgements

The course takes place at Cyprus University of Technology (in Limassol, Cyprus) and is co-organised by Tallinn University Institute of Informatics Interaction Design Lab, EstCHI, Cyprus Interaction Lab and Cyprus SIGCHI chapter.

For more details please see the official webpage: http://summerschool.tlu.ee/research-methods-in-hci/