NordiCHI 2000 — Workshop 1

Quality and validity in HCI research

Topic to be discussed
The field of human-computer interaction is highly inter-disciplinary involving and borrowing from a multitude of incompatible disciplines to ensure that no means are left out in aiming for the best computer solutions. In the early years of HCI an overemphasis on criteria for scientific validity in the involved "basic" disciplines dominated over the question of practical relevance of research. Today, however, this disciplining has been substituted by an equally unsound looseness with respect to method, rigor and theoretical foundation.

Due to the inter-disciplinarity it becomes difficult to ask questions about the quality of research. The question is to easily brushed aside with arguments about relevance, or the (political) need for this specific kind of research.

The workshop invites contributions on the question of validity in various well-defined parts of HCI, in order to open a discussion on standards for research in this field. We would like to hear about the criteria and standards for research in your field and see good and bad examples as illustrations of the principles.

The aim of the workshop is to nurture the diversity of the field by making explicit the "rules" in each corner, thus making it possible for others to appreciate other researchers' work. The aim is not to decide which kind of HCI research is most appropriate or valid, but to make explicit the criteria in order to improve research in all sub-disciplines.

Organisation of the workshop
In accordance with the submitted position statements and workshop papers, the workshop will be organised into themes taking off from the accepted workshop papers. We will not try to find the one and only criterion for good research, but uncover the richness of criteria within the field.
We will conclude the workshop by producing a collection of posters presenting a classification of the approaches to validity and quality discussed during the day.

How to join the workshop
The workshop has two submission categories: position statements and workshop papers. The workshop papers will set the agenda for the workshop. Position statements of the accepted participants, and the workshop papers, will be made available to the participants before the workshop, for everybody to be able to prepare. The number of participants will be limited to 25 in order to enable free, constructive discussion.

Position statements (required):
To join the workshop please send a position statement including, short biography, field of work/interest and what you would like to be discussed during the workshop. Position statements should not exceed 500 words, and must be submitted electronically, by email as plain, unformatted text to olav.bertelsen@daimi.au.dk, not later than 1. September 2000.

Workshop papers:
In addition to the position statements, we invite workshop papers on the question of quality and validity in various parts of HCI.  We would like to hear about the criteria and standards for research in your field and see good and bad examples as illustrations of the principles.
Accepted workshop papers will be presented during the workshop, and possibly (depending on general quality of submission) published  in a not yet known printed forum.

Workshop papers should not exceed 5 pages and should be formatted according to the NordiCHI paper format (see "call for papers"). Workshop papers should be submitted electronically in PDF format. Sent as email attachment to olav.bertelsen@daimi.au.dk, not later than 1. September 2000.

We will notify authors of position statements and workshop papers of acceptance/rejection by 16. September.

Workshop registration fee is 500 SKR in addition to registration for the main conference, and should be paid through the conference organisation upon accept of participation.

About the organisers
Liam J. Bannon. Professor at Dept. of Computer Science & Information Systems, University of Limerick, Ireland. Bannon has been an influential actor in criticising established assumptions in human-computer interaction since the mid-eighties, and is one of the pioneers in computer supported cooperative work.

Olav W. Bertelsen. Research assistant professor at the Dept. of Computer science, University of Aarhus, Denmark. Bertelsen's masters thesis (1993) was an assessment of the possibilities for theory in human-computer interaction, based on a critique of Card, Moran & Newell. His Ph.D. constructed a concept of design artefacts, based on activity theory. 

Updated information
http://www.daimi.au.dk/~olavb/val i2000/