Topic Assignment 1 – Selection

Topic Selection

Graduate students should select a topic in HCI for their paper and presentation to the class. Although the presentation and paper are based on the same topic, they are different. The presentation is an introduction of the topic to the class and me. The paper explains some unique ideas you have about the topic and is written for me to read.

You can choose any topic in HCI, but please email your topic during the first week of the semester to assure we agree early on the appropriateness of the topic. At the bottom of this web page is a list of potential topics. It is not exhaustive and you do not have to choose from the list. I would prefer that you choose a topic not in the list. If you have started your graduate research then selecting a topic that is related to your research would be good.

Some of the topics in the list are very broad, so when you describe your topic in the email to me, be as explicit as you can. It is fine if your topic selection is not specific, but then during your initial research into the topic you will want to find a specific subtopic that interests you.

There is not much time during the semester, so try to accelerate the process, as you read ask your self, “Exactly what interest me in this topic?” If your topic becomes more refined or changes, you may email me to check if the refinement or change is fine.

The presentation will be scheduled for an entire lecture in the later half of the semester, the lecture does not have to consume whole hour. The paper will be due before the presentation and is about 10 pages single spaced. The presentation and the paper are different. The presentation should be a survey of literature of the topic and introduces the topic to the class. The paper is to present original ideas, and should introduce only the relevant prior work.

App Preference List

Send me your preferences for the app that you would like to work on. First on the list should be your first choice and second should be your second choice, etc. Please give me your preference for all six apps.

Email Me

Please email me (pastel at mtu.edu) your topic and app preference list by the due date with the subject line:

cs5760 Topic selection

The email should include:

  • Your name
  • Your user name
  • Your topic title (no more than 5 words)
  • A few sentences description of your topic
  • Application Preference List – list of the 6 app projects that you would like to work on. 1 being the highest preference and 3 being the lowest preference.

Please send the email promptly because I need time to have your directory setup. I will use the order that I receive the emails to decide on the order of presentations.

Partial List of Example Topics

  • Information Visualization
  • Fitts/Steering Law
  • Task analysis
  • Affective HCI
  • Collaborative/Social Work (CSCW)
  • 3d User Interfaces and Interactions
  • Human Robot Interaction (HRI)
  • Search and Rescue: Human Robot Interaction (HRI)
  • Multi-robot HRI
  • HRI Theory and evaluation
  • HRI Programming
  • Tangible User Interface (TUI)
  • Usability
  • Evaluation
  • Users Models
  • Gesturing HCI
  • Natural Language HCI
  • Ubiquitous HCI
  • Universal usability
  • Older computer user
  • Mobile HCI
  • Stakeholder analysis
  • Requirement gathering and analysis
  • Haptic displays and interactions