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Mixed methods for mixed reality: understanding users’ avatar activities in virtual worlds

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Abstract

This paper examines the use of mixed methods for analyzing users’ avatar-related activities in a virtual world. Server logs recorded keystroke-level activity for 595 participants over a six-month period in Whyville.net, an informal science website. Participants also completed surveys and participated in interviews regarding their experiences. Additionally, the study included online ethnographic observations of Whyville and offline observations of a subset of 88 users in classroom and after-school settings during their participation. A mixed-methods analysis identified a major user emphasis on avatar appearance and customization that was invariant across user typologies. Implications for the use of mixed methods in online environments are discussed with regard to three challenges resolved during the study: (1) appropriate reduction of the vast quantity of data, (2) integrated analysis of online and offline events, and (3) interactions between qualitative and quantitative data.

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Notes

  1. This issue also arises with the use of synchronous communication technologies that are not embedded within the virtual world being observed, such as third party instant messaging software, voice over IP, or telephone (e.g., Williams et al. 2006).

  2. Onwuegbuzie and Johnson (2004) suggest that studies utilizing multiple methodologies within or across stages of research (i.e. defining the research objective, data collection, and data analysis) be referred to as “mixed models” rather than “mixed methods.” However, to maximize consistency in terminology across scholars, these phrases will be considered interchangeable for the current study.

  3. This sense of presence does not differentiate between actual users who are represented within a virtual space and agents or other fabricated social entities that interact with a user as part of the virtual environment.

  4. Reliability of these items was likely hindered by the unstable relationship between interest in technology as a discrete activity and the amount of time spent using technology for schoolwork and social communication.

  5. This observation was also made by one of the participants interviewed, who said “At first I really liked this gator game, so I started to really get into it. But then I couldn’t get any more salary from that game so I got really bummed out….”

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Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association in April 2007, Chicago, Illinois. The analyses and writing of this paper has been supported by a grant of the National Science Foundation (NSF-0411814) to the second author. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NSF, the University of South Carolina, or the University of California. We wish to thank Melissa Cook, Deborah Fields, Michael Giang, Linda Kao, and Kylie Peppler for their assistance with data collection and analysis.

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  1. Department of Educational Studies, College of Education, University of South Carolina, 1801 Shadowood Drive, Columbia, SC, 29212, USA

    David F. Feldon

  2. Psychological Studies in Education, Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Yasmin B. Kafai

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  1. David F. Feldon
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  2. Yasmin B. Kafai
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Correspondence to David F. Feldon.

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Feldon, D.F., Kafai, Y.B. Mixed methods for mixed reality: understanding users’ avatar activities in virtual worlds. Education Tech Research Dev 56, 575–593 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-007-9081-2

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