Call for Participants 1

The Mailshot

This is a mock-up of the call for participants I'll be sending out to the world. I'm tentatively planning on sharing this on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok, but I do need to consider how wide my catchment area will be. If I am to travel to participants' homes to interview them, do I want to limit my catchment area Cardiff? Do I widen it out to Wales, or the United Kingdom as a whole? And if I'm planning on interviewing some participants while we're in a multiplayer version of an open world RPG, does location matter? Wouldn't it be good to examine cultural and societal differences of gamers who live in South Africa, Australia, or Guatemala, and how these may influence or impact upon the unintended consequences they may experience?

Initial Questionnaire

This online questionnaire has already been through several iterations, and while I'm still learning how to 'do research', is being tested by a friend of mine and a couple of colleagues at work, all of whom are inveterate gamers who are also honest enough to give me critical (honest) feedback.

Version One

Version one was an absolute dud. Quite rightly, both my friend and one of my colleagues pointed out that it felt very constricting, largely because of the list of games presented, which read like (and I quote) 'Bex's favourite games'. It was also pointed out that the device on which the game is played isn't relevant either: unintended consequences are just as likely to be experienced whether playing on an XBox X or a mobile phone.

Version Two

Rather than listing a prescriptive (and, in turn, proscriptive) list of games, I decided it would be better to ask questions based around the characteristics of OWRPGs. This would allow for games over and above the ones I have played or heard of, widening the participant catchment area at the same time. I came up with a number of defining traits, and listed these rather than specific games. I also provided an overview of what an OWRPG is to clarify.

My guinea pigs agreed that this felt far less restrictive.

Version Three

This is a tweaked version of the previous questionnaire, providing an overview of OWRPGs along with some named examples for context. This time I aggregated my gaming criteria with those I'd found via Artificial Intelligence (you can read more about my approach to defining criteria here), thereby taking a less subjective approach. I also asked respondents for their geographic location.

To Be Continued...

I can't shake the sense that I'm almost there, but that the questions, while in the right ballpark, need better framing. I have an upcoming meeting with my supervisors, and I need to bring this issue to them for clarification and, hopefully, a bit of guidance. I'll then need to revise - or completely rethink - the questionnaire.

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