Theoretical and methodological challenges (and opportunities) in virtual worlds research

Authors:
Suzanne de Castell;Nicholas Taylor;Jennifer Jenson;Mark Weiler
Affiliations:
Simon Fraser University, University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada;York University, Toronto, ON, Canada;York University, Toronto, ON, Canada;York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
Venue:
Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games
Year:
2012

Citing 9
Cited 1

Ethics of Internet research: Contesting thehuman subjects research model

Ethics and Information Technology
Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture

Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture
Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames

Cheating: Gaining Advantage in Videogames
Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns

Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns
Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds

Communities of Play: Emergent Cultures in Multiplayer Games and Virtual Worlds
Virtual team performance depends on distributed leadership

ICEC'10 Proceedings of the 9th international conference on Entertainment computing
Dark Gold: Statistical Properties of Clandestine Networks in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

SOCIALCOM '10 Proceedings of the 2010 IEEE Second International Conference on Social Computing
Do men heal more when in drag?: conflicting identity cues between user and avatar

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Using sequential observations to model and predict player behavior

Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Foundations of Digital Games

Materials, materiality, and media

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This paper addresses a set of persistent methodological and theoretical challenges to research on Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), and to studies of 'virtual worlds' more generally. Critically examining some of the ontological, epistemological and ethical missteps that characterize well-respected, well-publicized and oft-cited research, our goal is to contribute to building firmer theoretical foundations to support more innovative, more rigorous and more accountable studies of digitally re-mediated, MMOG-based work, play and sociality.