Methods research

Unit V: Methodology

I.M. Student

MBA 5652 – Research Methods

9/16/2010

Unit V: Methodology

Method

The research that is proposed for this study will be developed through a mixed methodology in which a survey instrument is used to define frequencies within play of online games specifically focusing on World of Warcraft and Second Life. Case studies will then be developed through discussions with individuals who log in long hours of play, providing for a qualitative element to put the quantitative results into context with experience. The research study will provide for development of the understanding of what happens as it is put into context with how it is experienced.

Participants

Participants in the study will be gathered through invitations sent in game that will lead players to a website through which they can take the survey instrument. In addition, players will be selected for interviews in order to create case studies for the research study. A goal of 150 players of online games for the research survey and ten individuals for the interview portion of the study will be set.

Research Design

The research study will be designed through a mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative study methods. The quantitative study will be designed through using a survey instrument that asks questions about demographics, play, and relative questions about length of play. In addition, an exploration of the players and their avatars will be conducted through the survey instrument. The information will be put into a spread sheet from which the sums of and averages will be put through SPSS software in order to find frequencies between the variables. The quantitative study will provide a backdrop for the case studies that will explore the experience of online gaming and the identity as it is created through the ideal self and possibly leading to addiction.

The qualitative portion of the study will consist of two or three case studies that are developed from interviews with ten different individuals. The case studies will provide context for the quantitative study, the development of experiential revelation explaining much of the information that is gathered through frequencies. The information from the interviews will also be coded in order to find commonalities within the data that can be assessed for determining the more commonly experienced concepts of playing online games in relationship to identity and addiction.

Instrumentation

The instrument that will be used for the quantitative portion of the study will be a series of questions that move from demographic information to game play inquires, and then to personal information regarding the nature of play. Most of the questions will be designed for the dependent variables will have answers given similar to that of a five point Likert scale with 1 being highly dissatisfied, 2 being dissatisfied, 3 being neutral, 4 being satisfied, and 5 being very satisfied. This instrument has been designed by the researcher and will be found in Appendix 1. The second list of questions is intended for the interviews within the qualitative portion of the study and will be found in Appendix 2.

Data Collection Plan

Data for the quantitative survey will be collected from invitations sent to players of World of Warcraft and Second Life who will be directed to a website that has been developed to allow for conducting the survey. The information will be confidential and provide for the development of a spreadsheet that can be used to create sums and averages that can be translated into frequencies through the use of SPSS software. The case studies will be collected through interviews through which observation and recordings of the interviews will supply data of commonalities between participants. In addition, two to three stories will be developed into case studies.

Proposed Analysis of the Data

Variables

Dependent Variables

The dependent variables that will be used in analyzing the data will include amount of time spent gaming, number of avatars used, and level of satisfaction for the ideal self through the avatar. Additional dependent variables may emerge through the examination of the data.

Independent Variables

There will be a number of independent variables upon which the research will develop. Gender, sex, geographic location, and age are some of the independent variables that will be used in the analysis. In addition, marital status, parental status and socio-economic status may be used to help define some of the issues present.

Validity

Criterion Validity

The criterion validity will depend on the measures that associate time played in game to addiction. The development of the addictive nature of gaming will be predicted to be associated with the amount of time spent in the game environment. Additionally, the time played in game will be associated to the marital and parental status of the player, providing deeper context for who is addicted and who engages in recreational play.

Construct Validity

The construct validity will be based on defining the nature of addiction and applying it to game play online. Addiction is highly complex and can be applied to chemical alterations in the brain when behavior or ingestion of a substance creates a sense of satisfaction that leads to abnormal levels of craving. The word addiction comes from the Latin addicere which means to bind (Hanson, Venturelli, & Fleckenstein, 2009). In this case, the validity of the data as it relates to addiction will be in showing that the player is bound to the game in such a way that they have difficulty disengaging from it even when real life aspects of their life require disengaging.

Summary

The methodology of this research proposal is mixed with both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry. The data will be analyzed through SPSS software for frequencies from the survey instrument, as well as the qualitative data analyzed through codifying and placing the information in to a grid to analyze emerging themes. Participants will come from the gaming world, using internet technologies to facilitate the use of the survey instrument. Dependent variables will be demographic information while the independent variables will be based on game play and family dynamics. Validity will come from both assumptions about addiction and the construct of addiction.

References

Hanson, G., Venturelli, P. J., & Fleckenstein, A. E. (2009). Drugs and society. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.