Faunasphere Player Survey Information

Leadership, gender and age in the virtual world Faunasphere

Researchers: Mia Consalvo & Jason Begy


You are being asked to participate in research. For you to be able to decide whether you want to participate in this project, you should understand what the project is about, as well as the possible risks and benefits in order to make an informed decision. This process is known as informed consent. This page describes the purpose, procedures, possible benefits, and risks. It also explains how your personal information will be used and protected. =You should print a copy of this document for your records.

Explanation of Study: This is a multi-phase study of players of the online game Faunasphere, a game designed to attract game players. We are interested in studying how veteran and newer players interact in the space, and how ‘authority’ (defined as influence and acknowledged expertise) is displayed and accepted (or rejected) by players, among the player community. We will focus on how prior game experience and player age affect how players interact with one another.

To do so, we ask you to participate in a survey of Faunasphere players, which will ask you questions about your gameplay activities and preferences within the game. This survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. You can decide not to continue with the survey at any time, and if you decide not to continue, we will not use your data.

No risks or discomforts are anticipated with this study.

Benefits: The results of this research will be passed along to the developers of
Faunasphere. Thus, this is your opportunity to help shape further development of the game.

Confidentiality and Records: We are not asking you to provide your real name for this study, and we are keeping all your information confidential. If you would like to have us use your game username to identify you we will do so, otherwise we will assign you a pseudonym so your data will remain confidential.

There may be circumstances where this information must be shared with Federal agencies, for example the Office of Human Research Protections, whose responsibility is to protect human subjects in research.

Compensation: There is no compensation provided for completing this survey.

Contact Information: If you have any questions regarding this study, please contact Mia Consalvo at consalvo@mit.edu or 617-955-7918.

You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study. If you feel you have been treated unfairly, or you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, you may contact the Chairman of the Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects, M.I.T., Room E25-143B, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, phone 1-617-253 6787. Alternately, please contact Jo Ellen Sherow, Director of Research Compliance, Ohio University, (740)593-0664.

By participating, you are agreeing that:

• you have read this consent form (or it has been read to you) and have been given the opportunity to ask questions via email.
• known risks to you have been explained to your satisfaction.
• you understand Ohio University and MIT have no policy or plan to pay for any injuries you might receive as a result of participating in this research protocol.
• you are 18 years of age or older.
• your participation in this research is given voluntarily.
• you may change your mind and stop participation at any time without penalty or loss of any benefits to which you may otherwise be entitled.