Research on Mobile HCI

This chapter addresses the issue of context-dependency in research on mobile human computer interaction (HCI) with an emphasis on large-scale field studies. Based on a general framework that includes all the factors relevant for Quality of Experience (QoE), the authors first show how context affects basic processes on the side of the user as well the system or device. Then the authors describe three own studies where they aimed to account for context in app usage. The first tried to do so by offering an app for a very specific usage situation (commenting soccer world cup games), the second groups related applications of one domain (on-campus service for students) in an app-in-app bundle. The third example illustrates how evaluation of one single app across various contexts can be achieved in a classic field trial. Based on the authors’ experiences, they provide recommendations what to consider when planning a study and finally point out future directions of research.