for questions that specifically ask about academic papers or other scientific research
47
votes
10answers
2k views
How does Gamification change User Behavior?
On Location Based Applications the use of Gamification is essential. As you move along and check in you earn badges and points. Users also find themselves in a leader board, which most certainly ...
33
votes
5answers
1k views
What research is there suggesting modal dialogs are disruptive?
It seems "Everyone" knows they're highly disruptive for many situations but often times clients don't. Particularly in desktop applications this form of dialog is often misused, often disrupting a ...
14
votes
8answers
3k views
Should we provide “back” button for mobile website?
In mobile website for all smartphones (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows phone 7), should I provide a "Back" button inside the webpage even when the browser has functionality to go to back?
...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Do people use `jump to top of page` links?
I'm talking about links or buttons at the bottom of the page or screen simply linking to the top of the website.
Is there any data on that?
Are they used more frequently on long pages?
What about ...
7
votes
6answers
1k views
Opening website external links in new window — published usability tests
In usability discussions about opening website external links in new windows, with regard to the argument of "keeping users on the site" there are occasionally references to usability studies which ...
7
votes
8answers
1k views
Is 10 search results per page the best?
When there are a lot of search results they often are paginated. Most search engines I know show 10 results per page. I guess this was born out of an easy technical solution or habit. But I don't know ...
8
votes
2answers
859 views
What research methods can I use to create personas?
My experience with personas has been from creating personas with data that already exists usually provided by the marketing team based on their research.
How do you go about conducting research to ...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
Has Fitts' Law been adapted to Touch screens?
The question Is there any difference in element minimal sizes on 10 and 24 inch touch screens? made me wonder; has Fitts' Law been successfully converted to Touch related events? There's 3D movement ...
62
votes
7answers
5k views
To use or not to use “Zebra Stripes”, or Alternating Row Colors for Tables
Is there any research out there showing whether or not alternating the row colors for a table increases/impedes the time it takes to parse information? An example can be found at the following ...
5
votes
3answers
615 views
How to get stakeholder buy-in for proposed UX research initiatives?
Undertaking usability studies often requires selling them first. What methods have you found effective for getting your plans approved?
One example: I've used short project overview plans in the ...
14
votes
5answers
567 views
UX impact of standard stock photos
It's pretty clear to me that standard stock images (examples 1 / examples 2) don't help to build a brand or identity. Are there any studies about the impact of stock images? Any other thoughts?
In ...
6
votes
2answers
598 views
Conducting a competitive analysis
What are the questions you need to ask or the methods you perform when you're doing a competitive web site analysis from a UX perspective? How do you gather the facts? When in the project process do ...
25
votes
5answers
712 views
Do we have a taxonomy of UX requirements for software products?
I am a researcher on UX. My research aim is to help software engineering practitioners in early stages, i.e. requirements engineering, to deal with UX requirements even if their knowledge on UX and ID ...
21
votes
4answers
707 views
Display comments order - best practice
I wonder what is the best comments order on the website. I assume there are two major methods to display comments:
from newest to oldest,
from oldest to newest.
Facebook uses method one and ...
14
votes
2answers
785 views
Any data available on using Skeuomorphic Design in apps?
I've recently come across an article about Skeuomorphism that peaked my curiosity.
Skeuomorphism: ..."an element of design or structure that serves little or no purpose in the artifact fashioned ...
11
votes
7answers
835 views
Academic Papers about UI [closed]
Are there any academic papers (thesis, dissertations, etc.) that discusses topics about User Interfaces? Best if you post links.
I am just curious if such topics are accepted for research...
26
votes
10answers
2k views
Traffic lights: “yellow” is progress, not state
When thinking about how (real-world) traffic lights work, I wonder if there is a more intuitive way to display the yellow light. The meaning of Green and Red are states:
Green: Ok, you can go!
Red: ...
16
votes
4answers
753 views
Are there any recent studies of the “Keyboard vs Mouse”-issue?
Back in the late 80's, Apple Human Interface concluded that the mouse is faster than the keyboard, objectively. But also that every test person subjectively thought that the keyboard was faster.
...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Mental model vs Conceptual model — what's the difference?
I'm reading Apple's Human Interface Guidelines about Mental models and I can't understand what is the difference between Mental and Conceptual models.
I prefer a short answer if possible :)
4
votes
1answer
257 views
What are the design guidelines to make interfaces friendly to dyslexics?
I've come across this question on Quora where it's likely to be forgotten.
Unlike other disabilities that are often considered in design, dyslexia has many forms. As a result, the guidelines can't be ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
Is viewport size a useful design constraint, and how are viewport sizes distributed?
I'm trying to support or falsify the hypothesis that desktop browser viewport size is distributed multimodally (that is, with "peaks" in the distribution that might make for useful website design ...
11
votes
6answers
530 views
How would you create and validate personas for something that is not a person
There are a few questions here about personas, and research methods that you might use in order to create them, (some of which I've answered at length). Examples include:
What research methods can I ...
7
votes
6answers
467 views
How do approaches for UX differ between intranets and normal websites?
I have been asked to offer advice for the development of an intranet for a large international company.
The client will be developing the intranet in Sharepoint and is keen to use a user-centric ...
3
votes
2answers
611 views
Is there any research or data on horizontal vs. vertical navigational menus?
I've seen many sites using both horizontal (top) navigation, vertical (left) navigation, and both across web sites for a long time. My understanding is that they're both conventions, but I would ...
6
votes
2answers
601 views
Where can I find research about UI Design Across Form-Factors/ Devices (e.g. TVs & entertainment systems)?
Has there been marketable research in new UI design ideas that could work across form-factors (from desktop down to smartphones on the one end and to widescreen HD TV for games on the other)? So that ...
8
votes
4answers
275 views
Is autotabbing in forms helpful or harmful?
I work in an environment that makes heavy use of mainframe systems. These systems are costly to maintain, so a decision was made years ago to replace the mainframe with web based systems.
As more ...
7
votes
3answers
384 views
Gender considerations in web usage
Are there particular gender differences in web usage/preferences? I'm about to start designing an information-based site with a predominantly female audience. I was wondering what research already ...
6
votes
3answers
255 views
Tips for ethnography
I'm doing my first ethnographic study next week and I was wondering if anyone had any tips, specifically for studying how people use things in their homes.
Are there any common pitfalls? Any good ...
13
votes
2answers
438 views
Have usability studies been conducted on the use of alphanumeric characters as labels for controller buttons?
Controller Question
Over the years there have been a wide variety of home consoles each with their own (mostly) unique controller designs1. One thing that most consoles have in common is their use of ...
10
votes
3answers
275 views
How to minimise the biasing influence of stakeholders
I'm working on a large project where I am a UX consultant. The company I am contracted with also consult a domain expert (DE) but she is not UX.
More than a few times now I have noticed her insisting ...
10
votes
4answers
141 views
Keyboard navigation versus mouse navigation
The project: We're designing software that users will use all day long to perform 12 repetitive tasks. Each task has many steps and takes place in a different pane in the GUI. Some of the GUI is ...
9
votes
1answer
294 views
Is there any research on whether users understand ellipses (…)?
This GUI design pattern goes right back to the Apple Lisa in the early 80s:
Is there any research covering:
Whether people actually notice the three dots (...) at the end of a menu item or ...
4
votes
2answers
208 views
What original sources have research on how long it takes a visitor to decide whether to stay on the site?
I've seen many statistics referenced along the lines of:
Visitors decide where to stay on or leave a website within [7, 2, 11, 0.8 seconds] of seeing it.
Typically the statistic is used when ...
4
votes
2answers
437 views
Use of 'she' in scientific literature
While reading through plenty of scientific papers for my thesis relating to Human Computer Interaction (HCI), I am under the impression almost everybody refers to users/subjects/persons/... as 'she'.
...
