HCI Research Experiences During the Pandemic: Lessons Learned for the Road Ahead

Abstract

The social interaction restrictions imposed by COVID-19 required academic researchers to rethink the design of their research projects, especially those that involved human interaction. Considering this scenario, we report here the experience of conducting four studies in Human–Computer Interaction research projects that were adapted to be executed remotely: a focus group study, a communicability evaluation study, a speculative design study and a user observation study. Considering how the studies were planned, executed and analysed, we reflect on the adaptations needed, and lessons related to our experiences. From these lessons, we believe that, even after all the pandemic restrictions are lifted, we may continue conducting at least part of our research studies remotely to increase our geographical reach, reduce costs and facilitate data capture.