HTI 300: EXERCISE 3

Assignment 1: Ethics
a) At first sight, taking care of ethics in user research may seem like a straight-forward
issue. However, things are not always simple in real life situations. What kind of
unethical behaviour can a usability professional practice --- intentionally or
unintentionally?

Answer

1. Informed consent and User self-esteem: One example of an unintentional

unethical behavior a usability professional is foregoing the consent form for
internal participant who have signed an employee agreement, so as not to ensure
that the participant doesn’t leave an interview feeling bad and with a bruised self-
esteem.
2. Anonymity: An HCI professional might find it difficult to preserve
confidentiality and anonymity of an internal applicant especially if a customer is
keen on knowing how a participant performed

3. Data Integrity and Presentation: An unethical behavior of an HCI practitioner is the

inability to provide accurate and dependable data. For HCI professionals, there are several
intriguing ethical questions about how we present the findings of product reviews. When
collaborating with product teams, there may be a propensity to downplay negative
outcomes in order to maintain a positive working relationship with that team. If we are to
perform the position of user advocate, we must develop the tough talent of being able to
communicate poor results while maintaining strong relationships. Highlight reports can
be "doctored" by leaving out certain information’s .

4. Using persuasive technologies: An HCI personnel using persuasive technologies

such as a product that may mislead potential users or sway them to act
outrageously is an unethical behavior. Also, another unethical issue could arise
when an HCI personnel introduces systems that have life or death consequences or
that could compromise the health of an individual
b) Video and audio recordings as well as photos of the study setup are commonly
used in usability test as well as other types of user studies. What kind of ethical issues
are related to using them and how these issues should be taken into account when
planning and conducting the studies?
Answer
1. An ethical issue that can result from using video and audio recording is when
an interviewer has assured his interviewees that the recorded videos and other
materials are confidential, that is, his identity won’t be revealed and then some
superior requests for the identity of the interviewee to be exposed to him. An
 HCI personnel should know that, on no account should such details be
revealed because those details were given based on trust.
2. Another ethical issue could be when an interviewee performed poorly in his
analysis and he refused to give consent for his recording materials to be
shared.

Faith Usor
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