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Ethical considerations relating to the use of participants’ data are well-established within User Experience (UX) practices. Similarly, there is evidence of a wide understanding of what dark UX patterns are and why these violate ethical principles set out by computing codes such as the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. However, frameworks for practitioners to reflect on the possible unintended consequences of their work are less well represented.

This paper reports on work conducted by the Computer Science Usability Group at the University of Hertfordshire in which a User-Centred Design methodology was applied to gain a deeper understanding...

Understanding the perception and usage of Computerised Adaptive Testing (CAT) by colleagues in the sector represents an important part of an ongoing research programme into Learner Centred Design (LCD). For this reason, a web survey was published that asked about colleagues’ experiences and views of assessment in general and CAT in particular. Sixty-nine participants responded to the survey. A range of techniques for assessment were reported, with objective testing being employed more commonly in formative assessment. This represents an important finding in the context of potential uses of CAT given the prevalence of objective testing in CAT. Few of the respondents used CAT as part of their assessment regime although most were aware of it. Practical implementation issues represent the most commonly cited reasons for not using CAT.

Sixteen students took a test that included a Flexilevel stage and a standard Computer Based Test (CBT) stage. The results were analysed using a Spearman’s Rank Order correlation and showed a significant positive correlation (rs = 0.58, p