Introducing Students to Empirical Methods in CG and HCI Courses through User Studies

Abstract

Empirical methods are increasingly important in the computing profession. Computer scientists and engineers must be capable of designing and conducting experiments in order to test and evaluate new methods and complex systems. Moreover, the pervasive use of computers as tools for interdisciplinary research also demands a strong foundation in the scientific method. Yet, traditional curricula do not devote much attention to this issue and, until recently, almost no effort has been made towards explicitly identifying empirical concepts and skills needed by computer scientists/engineers, and developing methods to integrate them into the standard curriculum. In this paper an argument is made for introducing the use of empirical methods into courses in the areas of Computer Graphics and Human-Computer Interaction. Two suites of user studies that have been developed and performed for three years, with the collaboration of students from different courses at various levels, either as experiment designers (advanced students), experimenters or merely participants (younger students), are described. These experiments have also been used to promote an earlier introduction to research as advocated in the scope of the Bologna process.