Human Factors in Road Engineering
Summer Semester
Course Language: German
The course "Human Factors in Road Engineering" is relevant for these courses of study:
- M. Sc. Civil Engineering
- M. Sc. Business Administration and Engineering
- M .Sc. Transport Engineering and Mobility
More detailed information can be found in the respective Examination Regulations in the official announcements of RWTH Aachen University.
Course Description
The overall learning objective of the course "Human Factors in Road Engineering" is the acquisition of profound knowledge in the field of behavior-related issues in road engineering. Basic theoretical and practical knowledge and skills for planning, conducting and evaluating empirical user studies in the field of road engineering are imparted. This course conveys among other things:
- Fundamentals of traffic psychology
- Fundamentals of empirical testing methodology
- Information on empirical survey methods
- Basics of data evaluation procedures and statistical interpretation
In the exercise part, an empirical survey on a traffic-influencing measure is planned, prepared, carried out and evaluated in small groups to intensify theoretical knowledge. Weekly work assignments are elaborated in the group and discussed together with the lecturers. Finally, the results are discussed in a group presentation.
Depending on the defined research question, studies can be conducted either in the driving simulator of the Institute of Highway Engineering or as a controlled field test.
Learning Objectives
- Autonomous conception of traffic-influencing measures
- Derivation of questions and hypotheses
- Derivation of dependent and independent variables and preparation of experimental designs
- Choice of empirical methods and survey instruments for the analysis of the defined research question
- Conduction of experiments
- Independent processing of the results
- Presentation of results