[ot] doctoral dissertation RPG survey

[kingpaul]

I got this email forwarded to me. Thought I'd include it here:

Hello. My name is Christopher Dyszelski and I am a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at Miami University as well as a long-time role-playing gamer and member of this list. I am currently working on a doctoral dissertation studying the players of tabletop role-playing games. The purpose of the study is to investigate and document the experiences, behavior, and attitudes held by players of these games.

As a part of this study, I am conducting an online survey. If you are at least 18 years of age, have played tabletop role-playing games and are interested in participating, I encourage you to read more about it at the site (below) and consider participating.

This survey is one part of a larger study of the experiences of women in role-playing games. The larger study will also include examinations of media, interviews with gaming professionals, and in-depth interviews with female players. Interested female participants in the survey may be contacted as participants for the in-depth interviews that will explore further their particular experiences in role-playing games.

If you are interested in learning more about this study and participating in the survey, please go to
http://www.users.muohio.edu/dyszelcj/rpgresearch/RPGCONSENTPAGE.HTML

If you have other questions, please email me at dyszelcj@muohio.edu. Please feel free to send this email on to other role-playing game players you know that you think may be interested in participating in the study.

I thank you for your time and attention and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Christopher Dyszelski, M.A.
Department of Psychology
Benton Hall
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056
dyszelcj@muohio.edu

 

[Umbran]

Revealing the actual purpose of the survey is a fast and sure way to bias the results. I would think any doctoral candidate should know that.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Can't blame him for wanting to further explore female role players, though.

 

[CaptainCalico]

Revealing the actual purpose of the survey is a fast and sure way to bias the results. I would think any doctoral candidate should know that.

Most Human Subjects Use boards require that the purpose of any survey be revealed before a subject chooses to participate.

 

[Silver Moon]

What an interesting and creative idea (the doctoral dissertation that I am currently working on is on the far more mundane subject of hospital strategic planning). When I first saw this post I initially thought it was another April Fool's Day joke, but this certainly looks legit. The instructions look to be very clear and rather professional. Looks like it might be worth the time investment (30 min.) to fill it out.

 

[Umbran]

Most Human Subjects Use boards require that the purpose of any survey be revealed before a subject chooses to participate.

Hrm. Well, from a scientific viewpoint, that's just plain silly. I'm sure there's a reasonable sounding rationale behind such a policy, but it sure must make it hard to get decent results.

 

[Storminator]

Reminds me of another study I saw once...

http://www.satirewire.com/news/march02/women.shtml

PS

 

[Storminator]

Being the suspicious sort, I checked up...

Dear Mr. Storm:


Chris Dyszelski is a Ph. D. candidate in our APA-accredited Ph. D.
program in clinical psychology. He is doing a dissertation on the
experience of women playing various role-playing games. I would be
happy to provide you with any further information regarding the study
that you require.


--
Roger M. Knudson, Ph. D.
Associate Professor and
Director of Clinical Training
Department of Psychology
Miami University
Oxford, OH 45056 - 1618
Phone: 513-529-2404
FAX: 513-529-2420
email: knudsorm@muohio.edu

Seems he's on the up and up.

PS

 

[CaptainCalico]

Hrm. Well, from a scientific viewpoint, that's just plain silly. I'm sure there's a reasonable sounding rationale behind such a policy, but it sure must make it hard to get decent results.

Humans are the hardest creatures in the world to study - rats dont' have to sign informed consent forms! (I once contemplated doing an attitude survey for schoolchildren - nothing radical, just wanted to see what their attitudes towards animals were - needed informed consent from the kids, the parents and the schoolboard - plus the Human Subjects Coordinator just turned pale when I mentioned children. I came up with a different project.)

But the rules are strict, it doesn't matter if you are asking for opinions or a blood sample - human subjects have the right to know what the study is about and how the data they provide will be used. You just have to rise to the challenge of constructing your survey in such a way as to get responses that are as unbiased as possible.

 

[ichabod]

Revealing the actual purpose of the survey is a fast and sure way to bias the results. I would think any doctoral candidate should know that.

Given that he's doing a self-selecting survey on the internet, I kind of doubt he's thinking that hard about bias.