Associate Professor, Multimedia Program and Co-Director, Bradley University
New Media Center
Associate Professor, Communication
Bradley University
Peoria IL 61625
Global Communication Center 315
(309) 677-2378 ell@bradley.edu
AIM/IM: dredleelam
2nd Life: Professor Beliveau
office:Tues: 10:30-12; Thurs: 1:30-2:30

Introduction to Field Research Methods in Virtual Worlds: MM 333

Course Goals

The purposes include:

• Teach students about virtual worlds/immersive environments, especially as social/community environments rather than as quest games.
• Teach students a valuable and oft-use strategy/method for doing research (ethnographic field methods).
• Learn about a community of practice in Second Life
• Learn about ways Second Life can be used for distance education.

Requirements/Expectations

Grading
Quizes over texts and notes: 200
Student presentations: 100
Research assignment/exercises: 300
Blog entries: 200
Final Paper: 200
Total----------------------------------------------1000* (final total could be more or less than 1,000)
A: 88.5%-100% B:88.4-78.5 C: 78.4-68.5 D: 68.4-58.5 F:<58.5

Texts :

Field Research: Strategies for a Natural Sociology (Paperback) 
by Leonard Schatzman, Anselm L. Strauss

Second Life: The Official Guide (Paperback)  by Michael Rymaszewski

Special Considerations

Your attendance during classtime is required. Please limit multitasking and focus your attention and energy on class activities. Later in the term, some of the time will be spent on your own, doing research. I may join you/supervise from time to time. Blog work is homework, to be done out of class time. In cases of Second Life failure, iChat audio will be substituted during class.

Our class will be visited, both in world and "over Ed's shoulder" by guests throughout the term. Please remain respectful and focused. Do not invite friends to class. All visitors must be approved by Professor Beliveau/Ed. Refer potential guests to me for clearance and scheduling.

We have a class e-mail alias <mm33301-ja@bumail.bradley.edu>. Please check it daily (if you forward your mail out of it, be sure to empty the BU box regularly). I deduct 25 points (I'll notify you) from your score total each time--after the first (I'll warn you of this one)-- that I get bounced mail because your box is full. There is a BlackBoard site for grades.

Protection of Human Subjects Procedures

HSP Procedures: Although we are not conducting formal research in MM 333, we will treat human subjects protection as though we are.

• Uphold LL/SL "community standards" in all contact with residents.
• Uphold LL/SL "terms of service" with regard to "conduct of users," IP rights, the DMCA, and other matters in the agreement.
• Create a HSP handout carried by every student as a notecard offered to any avatar who inquires as to the research work/researcher’s presence (model attached at link).
• Maintain subject confidentiality in data management (coded names, etc) from informal conversations.
•  Forbid students from copying and saving transcripts of talk from avatars with whom they have not gotten permission (and who haven’t been given an HSP handout).
• Forbid students from using camera controls to see through objects and into spaces where they are not co-present with the subjects.
• Publish the URL for the student course blogs for the purpose of returning knowledge to the communities of practice in question.
• Review the student blogs regularly to catch any “beginners’” mistakes that might compromise subject protections.
• Block out avatar names and faces in cases of publishing photos of subjects without their permission.
• Copy of final papers posted to the student blogs.
  
  
  • Association of Internet Researchers ethical research document
    www.aoir.org/reports/ethics.pdf
  • Sample class FAQ (Aaron Delwiche at Trinity) http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/mmo/faq.html
  • Bradley CUHSR materials
    http://cuhsr.bradley.edu/
• Class Research Ethics FAQ
  
• The Belmont Report

Policy regarding student absence due to an illness:
When missing classes and related assignments due to an illness, it is the student's responsibility to provide a document issued by a medical authority to verify the student's absence due to illness, unless the Office of the Associate Provost for Student Affairs informs an instructor of the basis for the student's absence. Instructors will not call the Health Center or any other source to verify the student's reason for absence. Verification does not excuse the student from assigned work.

Policy regarding e-mail communication about grades:
As a matter of the Multimedia Program policy to protect student privacy and in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, questions and concerns regarding grades must be presented in person or in a written letter. Instructors will not respond to questions and concerns communicated through e-mail or telephone calls regarding grades.

Flexible Schedule [may be revised with notice]

Prior to 1/1/08: you must log on to Second Life, establish an account (free is ok; recommend that you give credit card information if you can); create an avatar and send me an IM, inworld before noon 1/2/08 so that I can send you a landmark for the classroom). Read chapter 4 of the official guide for information about avatar set up.

1/2 class 1
In Class: Introduce our avatars. Communication in SL. Search in SL (hit those money trees if you are less than a month old!). Introduction to Second Life and Field Research Methods/Ethnography. Examine some previous student work in this area.
For future class: Read Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 of the official guide.

1/3 class 2
In Class: Oral quiz, Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 of the official guide. "Normal" v. "qualitative" science.
For future class: Read Chapters 5, 6, 11 & 12 of the official guide. Set up your class blog, report the url, send me a picture of your avatar, asap

1/4 class 3
In Class: Oral Quiz, Chapters 5, 6, 11 & 12 of the official guide. Fields and communities of practice.
For future class: Read S&S chapters 1 & 2.

1/7 class 4
In Class: Oral Quiz, S&S chapters 1 & 2; Field Research, Ethnography, and Ethnography of speaking
For future class: Assignments 1 & 3, due on 1/8 [also post all assignment reports to your blog after emailing the content to Ed and getting his approval for posting]. Read S&S, chapters 3 & 4

1/8 class 5
In Class: Oral quiz: S&S, chapters 3 & 4; Student presentations and faculty critique of assignments 1 & 3; Human Subject Protection Protocols
For future class: study the entire HSP section (above, including all 4 linked files); Assignment 4 due 1/9

1/9 class 6
In Class: Quiz: Human Subject Protection; Research roles.
For future class: S&S ch. 5; Assignment 5 due 1/11

1/10 class 7
In Class: Student presentations and faculty critique of assignment 4; Student presentations and faculty critique of assignment 2;
For future class: S&S ch. 6; Complete assignment 11 by 1/18

1/11 class 8
In Class: Chapter 5 Strategies for Listening; Student presentations and faculty critique of assignment 5; Oral Quiz: Human subject protection.
For future class: Assignments 6 & 7 by 1/15

1/14 class 9
In Class: Oral Quiz, s&s chapter 5; Interviewing; Practice interviews.
For future class: Assignment 8 & 9 by 1/15

1/15 class 10
In Class: Student presentations and faculty critique of assignments 6, 7, 8 & 9
For future class: Assignment 10 by 1/16; s&s chapter 6.

1/16 class 11
In Class: s& s Chapter 6:Field Observations and rendering notes. Student presentations and faculty critique of assignment 10;
For future class: s&s Chapter 7 & 8. Complete assignment 11 by 1/18

1/17 class 12
In Class: Oral quiz Chapter 6. s&s chapters 7 & 8 Data Analysis; format for prospectus.

1/18 class 13
In Class: Oral Quiz S&S chapters 7 & 8. Student presentations and faculty critique of field notes and renderings for assignment 11
For future class: write prospectus

1/21 class 14
In Class: Presentation of prospectus

Assignments

1. Identify 5 communities of practice in SL. Describe them and their activities in some detail.
2. Observe and describe, in detail and natural language, an event in SL that is typical of the kind in which you might be interested. Do not collect or record subject names or take pictures that might identify subjects. keep a written record of your observations.
3. Identify the community of practice in which you are interested.
4. Revise Human Subjects Protection handout to meet the needs of the community of practice you might come to better understand.
5.Complete the HSP handout with the <land-owner/group owner/proprietor> of the <land/group/place> you are going to observe.
6. Read "Visualizing the Spatial and Temporal Distribution of User Interaction Data Collected in Three-Dimensional Virtual Worlds", by Katy Börner, William R. Hazlewood and Sy-Miaw Lin. Adapt one of their protocols for mapping interaction in virtual spaces to your site/community of practice and render a preliminary version of the map.
7. Adapt one of Börner et al's. protocols for mapping interaction in virtual spaces to your site/community of practice and render a final version with your completed paper/report.
8. Engage and get permissions from an informant for a conversation in which you will practice interviewing. Identify with details and justify via explanations who this person is in the community of practice and why they can serve as useful informant. DO NOT INTERVIEW THE PERSON until Lamoureux has approved the choice and the schedule.
9. Prepare a draft question schedule for your conversation with the informant.
10 . Complete a conversation with your informant in which you practice the skills of the interview. Write report of the conversation, complete with illustrative Q&A with regard to the points you pursued.
11 .Determine two days and times before 1/18 that are most likely to result in viewable behaviors by participants in your chosen community of practice. Notify me of the days, times, and SL coordinates for the events. Briefly summarize what sorts of event you (roughly) expect to take place at that time. Let me know if I need special permission to enter the area; if so, let me know from whom I get that permission. You will observe the event and take descriptive notes to be turned in to me for the assignment; I will also observe parts of the event. You may or may not know that I am present (depending on the circumstances, I may use an "ALT" that is unknown to you and all present). Within 24 hours after each event, turn in to me data files (a) with the rough observations that you take at the event and (b) transform some of those observations into sample note files (ON/TN/MN/Packages/analytic memos).
12. Final research prospectus detailing the research project that you complete if you take MM 444.
© Ed Lamoureux