oldManPaech Lv 1
Hi! I spoke to Scott Harrowitz and he gave me permission to post this here.
My name is Philip Smith. I’m a post-grad student from Queen Mary, University of London. I am currently seeking volunteers to participate in an online research study exploring how emergent play shapes engagement and data quality in citizen-science digital games—games that allow players to contribute to real scientific research through gameplay—compared to the traditional, recreational games we see so much of today. If you’re confused about what emergent play is, think about how innovative and independent players are allowed to be in Minecraft— it’s the creative, unexpected, or self-directed ways players interact with games.
Participation involves completing an anonymous 5-10 minute online survey. Looking back on a previous play session, you’ll be asked about your gameplay habits, memorable moments of creative play, and your impressions of how these behaviors affect gameplay and, if applicable, scientific outcomes. All responses will be kept confidential, stored securely on encrypted servers, and used solely for research purposes. If you’re open to it, you can also provide your email for future follow up studies. More specific and comprehensive overviews of the administrative and ethical considerations of the survey can be found in the links at the start of the survey. You will be asked to state confirmation of reading them before continuing.
By sharing your experiences, you’ll help researchers uncover patterns in how players innovate within games—and how those innovations may impact both player engagement and the quality of scientific data. Your voice can help shape the future design of citizen-science games.
NOTE: For you guys specifically, while the survey gives you the option to talk about either a regular game or a citizen science game, I'd like to hear back on your experience with Foldit. Not as many citizen science game communities out there to pick from, so I'd like to get the citizen science game data where I can.
Thank you for your time and I hope you can contribute to my research!
Survey Link: https://york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9MLS4uWaPuMRZlQ
