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We invite small guilds--ideally with 8-15 active members--to participate in a study being conducted by the University of Illinois. We are looking for small guilds who have NOT used a voice chatting system while playing, but would be willing to try one out. Some guilds in the study will be randomly selected to receive free headsets and voice systems. Otherwise, this study simply involves playing the game as much as you normally would, but also completing three short surveys over the course of a month. All participants who finish the study on time will be paid $20 to $40.
This study is non-commercial and non-profit. It is not a marketing study, not affiliated with Blizzard or any other commercial organizations.
How do you get started? First off, you will need to get your guild members to agree to participate. The study is entirely voluntary. Secondly, you will need to send us a list of guild members which includes their email address and their various character names if they have more than one character. This information will be held strictly confidential.
Mail this list to gamestudy@uiuc.edu
You are also welcome to email us your questions at that address, but you can find more information at
http://www.spcomm.uiuc.edu/projects/gamestudy/
and you can see the F.A.Q. below.
Answers to some frequently asked questions:
Q. We get paid? For playing? Really?
A. Yes, all participants who finish the study, i.e. complete the three surveys over the month on time, will be paid $20. But you must finish all three on time. Also, because we want whole guilds to complete the study together, we double the payment if everyone completes the study. So, if every member of the guild completes the three surveys on time, everyone gets paid $40. If not everyone does, the rest still receive $20.
Q. Don't I need some stuff to use voice online? Isn't it complicated?
A. We will provide all of the necessary equipment, hardware and software for the study. If your guild is randomly selected to try out voice, we will mail each of you the equipment (a headset microphone unit) as well as instructions for using it. You will also be given free access to voice systems and startup instructions on how to use them. The process is pretty simple.
Q. Will people listen in on my voice conversations or record them?
A. No. We do not listen in or record conversations.
Q. What about consent?
A. This study is wholly voluntary. Although we usually ask one person to help us gather character names and email names to get the study started, you cannot be compelled to participate. If you do not wish to participate, don't.
Q. What about minors?
A. Participants under 18 will need to have the consent of a parent or legal guardian. This consent statement is presented as part of the first survey.
Q: Who will see the answers to my questions?
A. The research team is not studying individuals. Your data will never be examined individually and will never be linked to your in-game name or your real-life life. Additionally, your personal information will be deleted at the end of the study as a further safeguard of privacy.
Q. Can you guarantee my privacy?
A. Yes. The University of Illinois, like all major institutions, requires that privacy be maintained. This study was approved by the University's Institutional Review Board (http://www.irb.uiuc.edu/), which guarantees the privacy of all participants. You may contact the gamestudy staff or the Review Board if you have any questions or are concerned with the practices of this study.
Q. Why do you want the names of my alts?
A. We will be using your in-game names as part of the study questions. For example, a question on the study reads "How often do you group with [name]?] and we need all of the alt names for that player for that question to make sense. The alternative is using real-world names, but we feel that would be a violation of privacy, especially for players on RP servers.
Q. What is this study all about anyway?
A. We can't talk about the details until the study is over, but it is generally about playing MMOs and being online. We can assure you that there are no sensitive questions and no "right" answers. At the end of the study, all participants are sent an email which details the purpose of the study and provides a way to learn about the results. We can honestly say it is safe to simply think about this as an opinion survey.
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