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Human Standards

Academic Research

Human factors and HCI research builds the evidence base for everything in this guide. Knowing where to find primary sources helps you go deeper, make better arguments, and stay current.

Research Venues Overview

Section titled “Research Venues Overview”

Conference Tier Rankings

Section titled “Conference Tier Rankings”
TierVenuesFocus
Premier (A)*CHI, CSCW, UISTFlagship HCI conferences
Top (A)ASSETS, CHI PLAY, DIS, ISSSpecialized HCI areas
Strong (B)HFES, MobileHCI, NordiCHIRegional/domain specific

Journal Impact Factors (2024)

Section titled “Journal Impact Factors (2024)”
JournalImpact FactorH-IndexQuartile
Human Factors3.8135Q1
IJHCS4.9147Q1
IJHCI3.698Q1
TOCHI4.1115Q1
Ergonomics3.26138Q2
Applied Ergonomics3.6121Q1
BIT3.4109Q2

Key Conferences

Section titled “Key Conferences”

CHI (ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)

Section titled “CHI (ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems)”

The flagship HCI conference. Covers interaction design, accessibility, user research methods, and emerging technologies.

YearLocationPapersKey Themes
CHI 2024Honolulu, Hawaiʻi1,000+AI/ML, Accessibility, Health
CHI 2025Yokohama, JapanTBDSustainability, AI, Wellbeing

Best Paper 2024: “SolderlessPCB: Reusing Electronic Components in PCB Prototyping through Detachable 3D Printed Housings”

CSCW (ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work)

Section titled “CSCW (ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work)”

Collaboration, social computing, and multi-user systems. Relevant for shared workspaces, communication tools, and remote collaboration.

YearKey Details
CSCW 2024San José, Costa Rica (first Latin America)
CSCW 2026Two-round review process, ACM Open Access

Submission Timeline (2025):

ASSETS (ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Accessible Computing)

Section titled “ASSETS (ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Accessible Computing)”

Focused specifically on accessibility research. Covers assistive technology, inclusive design, and disability studies.

Topics include:

HFES (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting)

Section titled “HFES (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting)”

Broader than HCI — covers aviation, healthcare, industrial design, and cognitive ergonomics. Strong on safety-critical systems.

Technical groups:

UIST (ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology)

Section titled “UIST (ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology)”

Technical innovations in user interfaces. More systems/engineering focused than CHI.

Typical topics:

Other Notable Conferences

Section titled “Other Notable Conferences”
ConferenceFocusWebsite
DISDesign of Interactive Systemshttps://dis.acm.org/
CHI PLAYGames and playhttps://chiplay.acm.org/
ISSInteractive surfaces and spaceshttps://iss.acm.org/
IUIIntelligent user interfaceshttps://iui.acm.org/
MobileHCIMobile interactionhttps://mobilehci.acm.org/
NordiCHINordic HCI communityhttps://nordichi.net/
INTERACTIFIP TC13 conferencehttps://interact2023.org/

Key Journals

Section titled “Key Journals”

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)

Section titled “ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI)”

Premier peer-reviewed journal for HCI research. More in-depth than conference papers.

Topics:

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (PACM HCI)

Section titled “Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (PACM HCI)”

Journal that publishes research relevant to multiple aspects of HCI. Organized by tracks aligned with conferences.

Tracks:

Human Factors

Section titled “Human Factors”

The journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Covers physical ergonomics, cognitive factors, and system design.

Scope:

International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS)

Section titled “International Journal of Human-Computer Studies (IJHCS)”

Covers both theoretical and applied HCI research.

Scope:

International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI)

Section titled “International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI)”

Research on interactive computing, digital accessibility, and user experience.

Scope:

Ergonomics

Section titled “Ergonomics”

International journal covering physical and cognitive ergonomics across domains. Published since 1957.

Scope:

  • Physical ergonomics

  • Cognitive ergonomics

  • Organizational ergonomics

  • Environmental factors

  • Impact Factor: 3.26 (2024, +17.69% from 2023)

  • H-Index: 138

  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis

  • Website: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/terg20

Applied Ergonomics

Section titled “Applied Ergonomics”

Practical applications of ergonomics research.

Scope:

Behaviour & Information Technology (BIT)

Section titled “Behaviour & Information Technology (BIT)”

British journal publishing both empirical and theoretical work.

Notable papers:

Practitioner-Focused Journals

Section titled “Practitioner-Focused Journals”
JournalFocusAccess
Journal of Usability StudiesApplied UX researchFree (UXPA)
Ergonomics in DesignProduct designHFES members
User Experience MagazineUX practiceUXPA

Finding Papers

Section titled “Finding Papers”
Section titled “General Search”
ToolBest ForURL
Google ScholarComprehensive searchhttps://scholar.google.com/
Semantic ScholarCitation networks, AI summarieshttps://www.semanticscholar.org/
Connected PapersVisual literature mappinghttps://www.connectedpapers.com/

Google Scholar tips:

  • site:dl.acm.org "accessibility" — Search ACM papers only
  • site:nngroup.com "usability testing" — Search NNg articles
  • author:"nielsen" — Search by author
  • intitle:"cognitive load" — Search paper titles

Publisher Databases

Section titled “Publisher Databases”
DatabaseCoverageAccess
ACM Digital LibraryAll ACM publicationshttps://dl.acm.org/
IEEE XploreIEEE publicationshttps://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
ScienceDirectElsevier journalshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/
Taylor & FrancisErgonomics, BIThttps://www.tandfonline.com/
SAGE JournalsHuman Factorshttps://journals.sagepub.com/

Open Access Resources

Section titled “Open Access Resources”
ResourceDescriptionURL
arXiv cs.HCPreprints in HCIhttps://arxiv.org/list/cs.HC/recent
OSF PreprintsOpen science preprintshttps://osf.io/preprints/
PubMed CentralBiomedical/health HCIhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
COREAggregated open accesshttps://core.ac.uk/

Accessing Paywalled Papers

Section titled “Accessing Paywalled Papers”
  1. Check author’s website — Many researchers post preprints
  2. Request via ResearchGate — Authors often share on request
  3. Institutional access — Through university/employer subscriptions
  4. Interlibrary loan — Request through local library
  5. Open Access versions — Check for OA copies on Google Scholar

Citation Practices

Section titled “Citation Practices”

Citation Format

Section titled “Citation Format”

When referencing research, include:

ElementDescription
Author(s)Last name, initials (all authors)
YearPublication year in parentheses
TitlePaper or book title (italicized for books)
VenueConference, journal, or publisher
DOIPersistent identifier (preferred)
URLIf no DOI available

APA 7th Edition Examples

Section titled “APA 7th Edition Examples”

Conference paper:

Wobbrock, J. O., Kane, S. K., Gajos, K. Z., Harada, S., & Froehlich, J. (2011). Ability-based design: Concept, principles and examples. ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing, 3(3), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1145/1952383.1952384

Journal article:

Norman, D. A. (1983). Design rules based on analyses of human error. Communications of the ACM, 26(4), 254-258. https://doi.org/10.1145/2163.358092

Book:

Card, S. K., Moran, T. P., & Newell, A. (1983). The Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Web resource:

Nielsen, J. (2020, November 15). 10 Usability heuristics for user interface design. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

For Web Resources

Section titled “For Web Resources”

Include access date if content may change:

WebAIM. (2024). WebAIM Million. Retrieved January 9, 2026, from https://webaim.org/projects/million/

Foundational Papers

Section titled “Foundational Papers”

Interaction Design

Section titled “Interaction Design”
PaperAuthorsYearCitations
”The Psychology of HCI”Card, Moran, Newell198315,000+
“Direct Manipulation”Shneiderman19834,000+
“10 Usability Heuristics”Nielsen, Molich19907,000+
“Affordances”Norman198812,000+

Cognitive Load

Section titled “Cognitive Load”
PaperAuthorsYearTopic
”Cognitive Load Theory”Sweller1988Original theory
”Working Memory”Baddeley, Hitch1974Memory model
”Attention and Effort”Kahneman1973Attention theory

Accessibility

Section titled “Accessibility”
PaperAuthorsYearTopic
”Ability-Based Design”Wobbrock et al.2011Inclusive design
”Universal Usability”Shneiderman2000Accessibility framework
”Social Model of Disability”Oliver1983Disability theory

Usability Methods

Section titled “Usability Methods”
PaperAuthorsYearTopic
”Thinking Aloud”Ericsson, Simon1984Protocol analysis
”Discount Usability”Nielsen1993Guerrilla methods
”5 Users”Virzi1992Sample size

Research Organizations

Section titled “Research Organizations”

Academic Organizations

Section titled “Academic Organizations”
OrganizationFocusURL
ACM SIGCHIHCI research communityhttps://sigchi.org/
HFESHuman factors/ergonomicshttps://www.hfes.org/
IEAInternational ergonomicshttps://iea.cc/
IFIP TC13International HCIhttps://ifip-tc13.org/

Industry Research Groups

Section titled “Industry Research Groups”
OrganizationFocusURL
Nielsen Norman GroupApplied UX researchhttps://www.nngroup.com/
Baymard InstituteE-commerce UXhttps://baymard.com/
MeasuringUQuantitative UXhttps://measuringu.com/
UIEUX strategyhttps://articles.centercentre.com/

Academic Labs

Section titled “Academic Labs”

Notable HCI research labs:

LabInstitutionFocus
MIT Media LabMITFuture interfaces
Stanford HCI GroupStanfordInteraction design
CMU HCIICarnegie MellonHuman-computer interaction
UW DUBWashingtonDesign, use, build
Georgia Tech GVUGeorgia TechGraphics, visualization, usability
Section titled “Recent Research Trends (2024-2025)”

AI and HCI

Section titled “AI and HCI”
  • AI-assisted design tools
  • Explainable AI interfaces
  • Human-AI collaboration
  • AI ethics in UX

Accessibility

Section titled “Accessibility”
  • WCAG 2.2 implementation research
  • Cognitive accessibility
  • AI for accessibility
  • Inclusive design methods

Wellbeing and Health

Section titled “Wellbeing and Health”
  • Digital wellbeing
  • Mental health apps
  • Health informatics
  • Technology and aging

Sustainability

Section titled “Sustainability”
  • Sustainable HCI
  • Green computing
  • Design for longevity
  • Environmental impact

References

Section titled “References”

Conference Proceedings:

Journal Information:

Research Resources:

See Also

Section titled “See Also”
Maintained by AK Lodhi