Methodological Views

The research methodologies that I will use will be guided mostly by my research question. However, I feel that I also have to consider the fact that I am going to be doing research in a virtual world and there are going to have to be considerations made for that as well. I realize that my questions will be based on what I am trying to find out, but I think that it is also important to consider that I am looking at a "world," and regardless of how structured my questions may be I will need to figure out the best possible methodology for obtaining the information that I am looking for.

I really like the idea of a person's identity in virtual spaces. I can't say that it matters to me which space specifically that I look at either. However, I do think that there would probably be a different identity for each space depending on the person. That is an idea for another day though. There is also the weirdness of Second Life that I can't seem to get away from. Hopefully this might help work out some of that weirdness.

Games Lab

1. I think that computer mediated research is one of those terms that may have multiple meanings. The reason I say this is because there are going to be different types of computer media that we might be looking at. I don't think that it will always be on the computer considering that there are video games that can be played online through the various gaming platforms. I'm not real sure that I would be able to come up with something specific for a definition because it will depend on the research, the platform or the type of virtual world that is being researched. This is going to be one of the terms that is going to change as the technology changes and will probably never really have a completely set definition.

2. My experience was weird in filling out the IRB form. Being as how I am not a child it was very unsure of how to fill it out exactly, especially considering that I really didn't need my parents permission to do this. The form seemed pretty thorough and covered most of the things that it seemed would be important when dealing with this type of study. It looked as if though they did a good job in considering the ethical implications of what might happen, especially when working with children. I think that working with children is probably a little more touchy than some other research and these research appeared to have put plenty of thought into this.

Online Research

What special circumstances or considerations should be given to research done in an about online spaces (i.e. informed consent of "subjects", ethics, access, etc.)?



I think that we tend to forget that we still need to get consent to use the information that we find online, regardless of where we are getting it from. I do think though that the ethical considerations for doing research online kind of walk a thin line. The reason for that is the fact that I don't think that there has been a lot of headway in figuring out what is ethical and what is not. So when it comes to ethical online research I think that we have to be very careful in how we approach it and try to make sure that we have covered all of the bases. With regards to access I would say that we also have to be careful because we have access to a lot information but that doesn't make it credible. Making sure that the source of the information is a valid one is very important when looking at online research.

What are some of the major benefits you see in virtual research? What are some of the disadvantages?

With the popularity and use of the internet I think that virtual research is important. First, it is easily accessible. Second, just the study of virtual spaces is important in order to better understand exactly how people are working in these spaces. I think that one of the biggest disadvantages to virtual research is, again, the idea that not everything you find online is credible and we have to be careful about that.

In light of research like Thurlow and McKay's, how do you think our students are likely to value online scholarship and research practices?

For one I think it is going to depend on the students. Some students may find it useful and really care about the research practices of the virtual world. However, there are also those students that just don't care one way or the other because they don't think they are going to need this in the future. Once they have graduated and enter into whatever setting that they do there might be a shift in their opinion of this and they might find it extremely useful.

Research Idea(s)

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! The place that research is likely to begin is going to be with Second Life (SL). I know you have all heard me say it before, but this is an environment that is very disturbing to me. The problem for me lies in the fact that there are a lot of different areas or ideas that I have regarding what research possibilities there are.

I am interested in the idea of identity and how this plays out in a space where people can be someone other than themselves. Although I haven't done a lot of research in this area yet, from what I have learned it seems that people that "live" a good portion of their lives in this space have become someone they are not in real life. I have the example of an instructor that I know that has two different avatars in SL one is a man and another one is a woman. Now he talks about how he started in SL and that is first job was as a stripper. However, in real life he is a college professor. I think that there is some interesting identity play going on here with regards to how this person tends to see themselves in this space compared to how they are off-world. Another interesting thing for me is the fact that I have actually taken a class about SL from this professor and it was very obvious just how serious he was about his life in SL.

That brings me into my next idea which is teaching in SL. The professor that I mentioned earlier does actually teach classes in-world. It turns out that a lot of universities have campuses within SL and they are holding classes there. I am interested in understanding more about this, especially in regards to composition. I can clearly see why some classes might benefit from this type of environment for learning but there are some that I am still having a difficult time understanding. One of those being how a composition class is being done in this space and how effective that is for students. Are the students in a classroom together when they are online in SL? Are the students in different personal spaces when they are online together? If they are in the same room then what exactly is the need for being in an online environment while teaching class when everyone is in the same room. I would like to understand this more.

There is also this idea of all the different sub-cultures and the discourse communities that they have all developed. I haven't spent a lot of time with any of the different sub-cultures but I have read about quite a few of them and I find it interesting how people have developed their own world within a world, within a world. It is rather bazaar to me. I think that this could possibly tie in with the idea of identity and how these people function as avatars.

With this being such a large world and there being so many different ideas of interest I am having difficulty in figuring out exactly where to start. Maybe I can could do an ethnography of classrooms in SL (NMSU has a few classes available in this space). I could also survey some of the individuals about how and why they function in this space. I think that my range of ideas is rather open and I am hoping that through this class I can take this broad idea and really narrow it down a lot.

Any feedback anyone has will be appreciated.

Surveys

I have actually thought about this some since I began thinking about my areas of interest. Again, I talk about Second Life (SL) because this is something that I already have some type of bias against. I can't exactly explain my bias other than to say that it really just creeps me out. (That is my technical way of explaining it.) I have talked to professors about this and they have to keep reminding me that if I go ahead with my study of SL that I am going to have to be a little more open-minded about it.

I have developed a very narrow view of SL because of some of the things that I have learned about it. I actually don't understand what motivates people to "live" in SL and not really live their own lives. It amazes me how they accept this as a second persona and are very serious about their "life" there. I realize that this isn't any different from someone playing an MMORPG, but because this world has not end goal and is not an actual game it makes it more difficult for me to understand.

I felt it necessary to explain all of that because my first thought was to go in there looking for something negative or trying to get some type of specific answers. I am afraid that if I were to do surveys I would do just that. I would be tempted to not accept answers that didn't fit the idea that I personally have of this space. However, I am hoping that with my growth as a researcher I will be able to control this urge and open my mind enough to accept the answers that I do get regardless of whether or not I actually like them.

I think that part of my close-mindedness has had to do with may lack of knowledge and understanding regarding research. I am beginning to understand that patterns could emerge from my research that I might not have expected. With that I would hope that if I needed to survey individuals that I would be able to do that without looking for the negative that I personally see in this space, and maybe open my mind to the fact that there might be something positive and useful in it.

Case Studies

1) A case study seems to generally be more of a mixed-methods type of approach than some of the others are. In this way the researcher is collecting different types of data in order to come to some type of question or conclusion. A researcher might start with a case study because they don't have a specific question in mind but they know that they want to look at this specific area. An example might be Second Life. I know that this is an area that I want to look into further but I am also aware that I have so many questions or misgivings and that I don't have one specific question in mind. I might have to do some kind of case study in order to begin the process of trying to figure out where extra study needs to take place.

2) I'm not sure that I understand what is meant here by anecdotal or generalizable. Are case studies less generalizable because they are more of a mixed-methods type of approach to research? I'm not sure if I am going in the right direction with this.

3)I really don't understand the term heuristic at all. I have tried put the definition into some type of context but I am really unable to do that. It's a word that gets thrown around in class a lot and I really have hard time contextualizing it with anything that is being discussed. I really don't know how to answer this considering that I really dont' understand the term heuristic or what is meant exaclty by generalizable (as mentioned previously).

Research - Who am I?

I am still getting used to the idea of trying to see myself as a researcher. Right now I am feeling like a poser in the middle of a group of knowledgable people. After reading the first few chapters for the class I am starting to see where I might be able to fit in.

I am thinking that I am going to fit into social construction. At least for the time being. I know that everyone is probably sick of hearing me talk about Second Life, but this is a virtual world that I really have a hard time understanding and with this comes a little of different things that go on that are disturbing to me. I think that people are making some type of meaning for themselves in this world and I would like to understand that better. I just don't really know or understand what this meaning is and I think that this is where my research is going to come in. I know that because I don't have a set topic or narrowed down area that I want to look that I am going to have to go in and look around until I am able to get to one idea.

I figure that for studying this world social construction makes the most sense to me out of all of them. However, I do realize that at some point the research could change I might have to make some changes, but reading through these first chapters this is the one that made the most sense to me.