COMP 150-03 Experimental Methods for Computer Scientists

Many computer scientists will at some time in their career have to perform experiments, e.g. for usability testing or evaluating human-machine interaction. Although the principles behind it are simple, experimentation is a skill that needs to be learned. This course introduces the basic background knowledge and skills for conducting a proper experiment. It will address the philosophical background, design, planning, execution, statistical analysis, and reporting of experiments involving noisy data sources like humans. Towards the end of the course, the students will perform a small experiment themselves.