I have a medium-sized list (about a few dozen items, the container is very likely to have internal vertical scrolling). There is no sorting, so items are displayed in the order of their addition to the list. They are added through a series of controls located above the list with a "submit" button at the end. A colleague and I disagree as to where the new items should appear – at the bottom of the list, or at the top.
Answer
No ordering is a missed opportunity
If you have 'no order' it is a missed opportunity to make the list easier to navigate. Chronological order of addition, or alphabetic order can only improve on 'no definite order' as far as navigation goes. Once you have an order, you have an answer as to where to add.
I'm assuming a time-of-adding order is more useful to your application than alphabetic, or you'd be already using alphabetic and not have a question - so you're left with a choice between chronological or reverse chronological.
Chronological or Reverse Chronological?
Are users more likely to be interested in older entries or newly added entries? That can decide whether chronological or reverse chronological order of addition is the right order. Put the most interesting at the top. If the preference might vary, then add the sort up/down arrow, so the user can choose. Again you now have a definite order and know where to add entries. If there is almost never a difference of interest in older or newer, so that it's not worth adding the sort arrow, then make the new entries appear at the end of the table that is nearest the submit button. That way, with their focus of attention on the button, they see the change as it happens.
Something near to the submit button needs to change when its clicked, e.g. a count of records, if not actual appearance of the new entry, so there is some visual feedback near to the button that something happened. It's where they are looking.
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