Category: Suggested Research Topics

Supervision

If you are interested in a currently available topic or you want to suggest your own topic within our current Research Focus for a project, bachelor thesis or master thesis, please contact us (see below).

Further information on the process of theses can be found on the INSO Scientific Writing website (you will receive access data from your supervisor).

Please also read the information on bachelor theses and master theses at DECO (German).

Topics Currently Available

This page contains the current list of available topics.

All topics are in the area of human-computer interaction and can be started at any time. The topics are suitable either as projects (4 to 10 hour project), bachelor theses or master theses (further referred as category). Some themes can also be used for all categories. The topic description contains hints regarding the suitable categorie(s).

If you are interested in one of these topics, please contact deco-teaching@inso.tuwien.ac.at and include the following information:

  • Your name, matriculation number (“Matrikelnummer”), and current field of study (“Studienkennzahl”)
  • Requested topic title
  • Requested category (project, bachelor thesis, master thesis)
  • Motivation letter regarding the topic
  • For projects: Course number (project) and title
  • For theses: Your current CV (curriculum vitae)

Please note that due to a currently increased number of inquiries we cannot process or answer those that do not contain the required information stated above.

Proposing Own Topics

You can propose your own topic for projects, bachelor theses and master theses. Please note, that the topic has to match our Research Focus. When proposing your own topic, please include the following information:

  • Your name, matriculation number (“Matrikelnummer”), and current field of study (“Studienkennzahl”)
  • Requested category (project, bachelor thesis, master thesis)
  • Motivation letter regarding the topic, including:
    • Problem description
    • Expected result
    • For theses: Possible research question(s) that your topic aims to answer
  • For projects: Course number (project) and title
  • For theses: Your current CV (curriculum vitae)

You will then receive further information on the relevant topic, i.e. if the suggested topic is suitable for a project, bachelor thesis or master thesis.

Suggested Topic: Insights into Personal Health by Aggregating (Tracker) Sensor Data

This topic is no longer available. If you have interest in similar topics regarding healthcare and human computer interaction, please contact us with a proposal.

Personal tracking devices such as step counters, heart rate sensors, scales, sleep mats, etc. offer a variety of data points. How can these data points be aggregated, interpreted and visualized into meaningful reports? What are key health indicators or factors?

In this thesis you will design personalized, meaningful health reports based on (1) available sensor data, (2) scientific research on health factors and health indicators, (3) information visualization concepts for medical data and (4) expert interviews.

Suggested Topic: Design & Evaluation of a Text-based Chat Interface for Mobile Peer-to-Peer Payment Transactions

This topic is no longer available. If you have interest in similar topics, please contact us with a proposal.

This topic will provide you the opportunity to work on a text-based chat interface for peer-to-peer (P2P) online payment transactions on a smartphone. After a comprehensive research of related work and a comparison of existing solutions, your task will be to design and prototypically implement new approaches and evaluate these in a concluding usability study.

Students may apply to write a bachelor thesis in this area of research.

Recommended prior knowledge: Interaction design, Android or iOS development skills

Suggested Research Topic: Influence of Response Times on Perceived Trustworthiness

This topic is no longer available. If you have interest in similar topics regarding trust and HCI, please contact us with a proposal.

Long, unexpected waiting times can damage the trust a user has placed in a system. This is particularly important in the context of online banking and electronic payment systems, where long waiting times leave users uncertain about the success of a transaction.

One specific research idea is to evaluate and quantify the influence of a payment system’s response time on the users’ perceived trustworthiness of the system. Multiple studies can be conducted based on this research idea by varying the design elements (i.e., UI elements that set expectations regarding waiting time), the risk involved (e.g., the sum involved in a transaction), and the domain (e-banking, p2p payment, e-commerce).

Suggested Research Topic: Influence of Branding + GUI Design on Perceived Trustworthiness in the Domain of Online Banking

This topic is no longer available. If you have interest in similar topics, please contact us with a proposal.

User interface design and branding is known to have a strong influence on how trustworthy a system is perceived by users. This is particularly important in the domain of online banking and electronic payment systems because of the high risk of financial fraud.

Influence of design factors on the perceived trustworthiness of online banking or payment systems.

One specific, suggested research goal is to evaluate and quantify the influence of design factors (e.g., user interface styling and consistency, branding, shopping seals etc.) on the perceived trustworthiness of an online banking or e-payment system. This topic is not available anymore.