Chapter #4 Scientific Foundations Flashcards
Experimentation
often referred to as a user study, an experiment.
Research
Investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, the revision of accepted theories or laws in light of new facts.
Facts
Evidence, used to test hypotheses
Theory
A hypothesis built on principles assumed for argument sake to explain a phenomena
Law
Formal constraining guideline that must be followed.
Fitts Law:
It isn’t a law but a model, is a behavioural predictive and descriptive model of human motor behaviour.
Patent
A publication the explains in detail how the invention is made and its functionality, but it is owned by the researcher or company that made the patent. Hence other peoples can use this patent if bought or granted.
H index
a measure of the impact of a researcher, is how many times their work is cited by other researchers, a good score is n years after phd =< x citations.
n publications = n citations for the h-index
Form Vs function
Form is more design oriented and Function is more engineering oriented
Empirical Research
Based on observational or experience. Research based on this. Or research verified or disproved by observation or experiment.
Observational Method
Focuses on qualitative assessments, interviews, case studies, usability evaluation. This is the research within the natural setting of peoples homes, letting them naturally be a part of the experiment. Low precision
Correlational Method
Non experimental, uses questionnaires and interviews. Goal of finding relationships but IMPOSSIBLE to do cause and effect. Balance of precision
Experimental Method:
Controlled experiment in a laboratory setting, with independent and dependent variables. Focuses on quantitative data, and cause and effect conclusions. High precisions
Theoretical Research
A logical exploration of a system of beliefs and assumptions, exploring the inherent structure and relationships of phenomena in the physical world.
User Study:
(Isn’t it the make up a person thing)
is an experiment with human participants
Usability Evaluation:
(This I think might be the just give person instructions and they test out the product without assistance)
Nominal Data
Categorical data that has arbitrary codes. Ex Gender, job title,student id.
Ordinal Data
Data that associates a order or rank to an attribute
Interval Data
Equal distances between adjacent values, similar to Ordinal data, but does not have a 0 option
Ex Likert scale, strongly disagree, disagree, etc…. (there can be a neutral)
Ratio Data:
Takes the ratio of a data set, usually with counts and provides the ratio (not 100% sure)
Ex: From Test #1 to Test #2 40% more people got an A
Research questions are best when
The more direct the question the better. More Interval validity, but least external validity.
Internal Validity
The extent to which the effects observed are due to the test conditions. (Basically How much of the data gathered is due to test conditions)(More about in a lab setting)
External Validity:
The extent to which results are generalizable to other people and other situations. (Basically how much of the data gathered is due to real world setting and situations)(More about in a real world setting)
Ecological Validity:
Methodology used similar to that in the real world, similar to External validity but this is only on method, not the outcome.
Correlational methods, imply:
imply circumstantial relationships
Experimental methods, imply:
imply causal relationships
