[game_edu] research methods in games

[Sittler, Ryan]

Hi Malcolm.

I'm in the midst of finishing my PhD in Communications Media and Instructional Technology - my dissertation research involves evaluating the effects of music on cognition in game environments. I'm using criterion-referenced tests as evaluation tools; likely different from what you've been doing. My Chair always reminds me that my study is, at its core, a study in educational psychology. From the different studies and methods I've read/examined... I definitely can see what you're referring to. I suppose a lot of this comes down to how "game" fits into the research... and the field in which the research takes place.

Anyway, you bring up an interesting point. If a guide like this exists, I am not aware of it. Though I'd certainly consider contributing to something like that.

Thanks much,
Ryan

--
Ryan L. Sittler, MSLS, MSIT
Assistant Professor
Instructional Technology / Information Literacy Librarian
Manderino Library | California University of Pennsylvania
office: 724.938.4923 | sittler [at] calu [dot] edu
    

-----Original Message-----

----------------------------------------------------------------------
              IGDA Education SIG
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2014 13:51:25 +1000
From: Malcolm Ryan <malcolmr at cse.unsw.edu.au>
To: IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org>, Games Research
	Network <GAMESNETWORK at uta.fi>
Subject: [game_edu] Research methods in games
Message-ID: <83932A4B-82DA-4411-AEE3-31EFC7F05BB0 at cse.unsw.edu.au>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Dear Games Researchers,

One of the things I find both exciting and difficult about doing academic research in games is the diversity of research methodologies we bring from our various academic backgrounds. Personally, I am from a computer science background and was trained in the model of CS research: build a prototype to solve a problem, test it and gather data to compare it against other existing methodologies. This is simple as long as you are addressing objectively measurable properties of software, but naturally it becomes more complex when you add a human player to the mix, especially when you are trying to measure something as nebulous as 'engagement'.

Since delving into games research, I have started encountering (and even producing) research which does not fit in the narrow model of CS. I'm interested in knowing what other research methods are out there and what their standards of quality are. What disciplines do they come from? How must we adapt them to our own? Do we have any novel methodologies of our own?

I wonder whether it wouldn't be worth creating a guide to games research methods, categorising and contrasting the different approaches. Does anything like this already exist? If not, would anyone be interested in contributing to such a document?

Malcolm