Abstract
Interviews are a staple data collection tool in social science research and in recent decades have been increasingly formalised and systematised. However, due to the specific affordances and constraints of virtual worlds, researchers cannot simply replicate traditional interview techniques in virtual worlds without careful consideration of the specific features of the technology. For example the prominent use of text as the medium for communication, role of the avatar, interview location and inworld objects have implications for all inworld research interviews. Building on the foundation of traditional interviews in educational research and the current literature on inworld interviews, this chapter focuses on the use of text communication tools in both one-to-one and group interviews inworld. Based on previous research by the authors the opportunities, implications, constraints and techniques for conducting text based interviews inworld are discussed. The chapter concludes with a set of guidelines for researchers considering the use of inworld text based interviews.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Anderson, K. (2007). Ethical issues in qualitative e-learning research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 6(2), 20–38.
Brenner, M. (2006). Interviewing in educational research. In J. Green, G. Camilli, & P. Elmore (Eds.), Handbook of complementary methods in education research (pp. 357–370). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chen, P., & Hinton, S. M. (1999). Realtime interviewing using the world wide web. Sociological Research Online, 4(3). http://www.socresonline.org.uk/4/3/chen.html
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Girvan, C., & Savage, T. (2011). Conducting text-based interviews in virtual worlds. In A. Peachey (Ed.), Proceedings of researching learning in immersive virtual environments (ReLIVE2011) (pp. 78–86). Milton Keynes: The Open University.
Girvan, C., & Savage, T. (2012). Ethical considerations for educational research in a virtual world. Interactive Learning Environments, 20(3), 239–251.
Girvan, C., Tangney, B., & Savage, T. (2013). SLurtles: A tool to support constructionist learning in second life. Computers in Education, 61(1), 115–132.
Hew, K. F., & Cheung, W. S. (2010). Use of three-dimensional (3-D) immersive virtual worlds in K-12 and higher education settings: A review of the research. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 33–55.
Jarmon, L. (2009). Pedagogy and learning in the virtual world of second life. In P. Rogers, G. Berg, J. Boettcher, C. Howard, L. Justice, & K. Schenk (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of distance and online learning (2nd ed., pp. 1610–1619). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Jepsen, D. M., & Rodwell, J. J. (2008). Convergent interviewing: A qualitative diagnostic technique for researchers. Management Research News, 32(9), 650–658.
Kirriemuir, J. (2007). An update of the July 2007 “snapshot” of UK higher and further education developments in second life. Bath: Eduserv.
Knorr, R. M., Bronack, S. C., Switzer, D. M., & Medford, L. F. (2011). Methodology of a novel virtual phenomenology interview technique. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 3(3). doi:10.4101/jvwr.v3i3.1400
Kvale, S., & Brinkmann, S. (2009). InterViews: Learning the craft of qualitative research interviewing. London: Sage.
Minocha, S., Tran, M., & Reeves, A. (2010). Conducting empirical research in virtual worlds: Experiences from two projects in second life. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, 3(1), 3–21.
Moschini, E. (2008, November). The second life researcher toolkit. An exploration of inworld tools, methods and approaches for researching educational projects in second life. In Proceedings of the researching learning in virtual environments conference, ReLIVE08, Milton Keynes.
Tuckman, B. W. (1994). Conducting educational research. London: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Vasileiou, V. N., & Paraskeva, F. (2010). Teaching role-playing instruction in Second Life: An exploratory study. Journal of Information, Information Technology, and Organizations, 5, 25–40.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer-Verlag London
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Girvan, C., Savage, T. (2013). Guidelines for Conducting Text Based Interviews in Virtual Worlds. In: Childs, M., Peachey, A. (eds) Understanding Learning in Virtual Worlds. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5370-2_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5370-2_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-5369-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-5370-2
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)