This work describes three previous studies with video games. Games were used because they are bounded systems and a digital Petri dish to expand what we know about research practices involving technology and learning. The work posits three key perspectives: 1) games are ubiquitous complex systems; 2) existing frameworks from the learning sciences and human-computer interaction research provide excellent ways to conceptualize research questions, variables, and inferences; and 3) understanding these systems provides a valuable analog to the implementation of research in a globalized world that is increasingly virtual. These perspectives evolved from several years of research and address special considerations, challenges, or pitfalls when deciding on a system, research questions, framework, etc. Three studies are shared, 1) an experimental design to examine personality and behavior within the World of Warcraft; 2) a digital Delphi approach (i.e., iterative, sequential, mixed methods) to gather information from a novel game (i.e., the League of Legends) and develop an instrument to ascertain key factors involved in performance; and 3) a sequential mixed-methods approach to determine the nature of player assertions about success in the game and evaluate those assertions relative to artifacts from game play (i.e., using educational data mining and learning analytics). Findings indicate that many assertions are easily examined or refuted using authentic game data. Overall, the work frames a heuristic for research based on six principles (Framework, System, Agency, Methods, Analyses, and Inferences) and broader implications for learning, assessment, research, and design in an interconnected and globalizing technological spaces.

Authors:
PG Schrader, University of Nevada, United States
Mark Carroll, KIPP Colorado Public Schools, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. PG Schrader is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA). He studies educational technology, research methodology, immersive environments, and learning in games/virtual worlds.

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