Requesting participants for a survey on virtual identity

Hi! I am Brian McDonald and I am currently a senior of Psychology and Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. As a part of my Psychology Thesis Project I am conducting research on The Effects of Gender and Sexuality on Virtual Identity. In Second Life we spend very large portions of our time interacting with virtual environments and virtual people; when we do this, we do it through the avatars we create. Because avatars are acting as extensions of ourselves it is very interesting to see what different avatars different people create, interesting enough for The New York Times to recently run a http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/06/15/magazine/20070617_AVATAR_SLIDESHOW_1.html) comparing gamers and their avatars. For my research, I am conducting a survey very similar to the one done by The New York Times, but unlike The New York Times I will be studying the data I collect. In short, I am conducting my research to see if there are any generalizable differences in the way different people model themselves virtually when they create an avatar.

Since Second Life is a game whose main focus is creating and interacting with virtual identities, the community of Second Life is a perfect place to start my research. To conduct this research I need a lot of participants! But thankfully, participation is very simple! Just go to http://survey.bmcdonald.info, fill out a very short question survey and send two pictures (one of your self and another of your avatar). (I also ask that if participants have more than one online persona they wish to submit to please fill out 1 survey for each avatar.) Doing so will hopefully shed new light on the connection of gender/sexuality and game avatars. Sadly I may not be able to share the results of the study, do to confidentiality and legal reasons, but I'm looking into that because I would really love to share the results with everyone!

Thanks again!
Brian McDonald

Moderators: If this thread is in the wrong forum, feel free to move it.

I am sure some folks will take your survey, seems that at least once a week or so, someone posts another survey about SL hehe

(I hope they make a forum specific for that) would be nice then those who want to do surveys just go check for new ones.

Thanks Rhaorth! I do hope some of you have the time to help me out by taking the survey. I really want this study to be a success!

Here is the link just in case anyone dosent want to read the whole first post: http://survey.bmcdonald.info

Some professor or something or other chastised us on this forum for criticizing any researcher's methodology. So, far be it from me to suggest a flaw, but... perhaps a sampling consideration here: Responses will only be from residents willing to share (what they claim to be) their own RL photos. My hunch is that such folks will be much more apt to create avatars similar to their RL appearance (however that's measured) than is the case for the general resident population.

Just another observation: many residents have multiple avatars for a single "persona"; whether such a resident is humanoid, neko, furry, mech, tiny, etc., on any particular day is akin to deciding which shoes they put on in RL. It's not obvious that this introduces any systematic bias to the subject study; it's just another dimension that some budding researcher will no doubt stumble upon someday in the quest for a thesis topic.

Criticized you for criticizing? Ho boy, now not only are we expected to act as lab rats for post-pubescent scholars, we must also hold still for it without at least once nipping the fingers of those who poke and prod at our psyche.

Let'em have it, Qie. This is an open forum and your always-thoughtful comments can only help those who come here seeking knowledge (or acting on some bizarre urge to examine the no-brainer of why people might want to act differently in an anonymous, largely non-judgemental and relatively safe envronment).

Looks interesting, might do it later.
Some things I never thought about...my avatars education level? Age? Haha.

Aside from people with multiple avatar appearances associated with a single avatar...
<=

Most virtual environments don't offer users the ability to mod your avatar in several of the directions listed. Most offer gender, many offer height, a few offer body type. Haven't yet seen one offering education level or sexual orientation.

BMcD,
While your here, git in the world and meet some poeple. Also, search for groups about "Psychology or "Psychology research" or any other form of what you are doing. Why re-invient the wheel when others (many others) are doing the same.

And welcome to SL

SL = Sequestured Labrats

Sorry, but no way.

"Residents are entitled to a reasonable level of privacy with regard to their Second Life experience."

Yup, no pics. Sorry. That's what "anonymous" means.

this is so wrong in so many ways.... ever hear "None of your damn business?"

Marianne and Oryx,
Same thing I thought when I hit those words. That ain't gonna happen. Makes me think of anything from potiential blackmail to some sort of pre-scanning looking for the right person to cybercam with. I'm not saying the OP is doing bogus research, I'm just saying the odds for nefarious purposes goes way up with such a strange request.

Well I had no prob with the first page (if there are more pages I am not going to find out). I chose not to enter a zip code nor upload photos -figure what difference does it make based on the questions- however- when I entered the security code i must have mis entered something which then reset the page and I lost interest. Sorry..

I did the survey but it needs some work. On the technical side, the pic transfer failed because the image was too big (didn't specify the restriction on the survey), and the survey seems to have bias in assuming that somebody will choose a human avatar. For example, I use an animal AV and my age is not equivalent to a human; you might falsely assume that I'm role playing as a human child AV when I indicated a young age & short height. Since there's no picture attached, good bet you will. Perhaps you should add a question to inquire what kind of avatar (human, animal, alien, object, etc.) is being used.

It looks like quite the interesting study....and since you have given all your information up front.....it seems to be validated. I have no problem taking the survey...and I really don't have any issue with providing pics.

Two things come to mind, one has already been mentioned. Lots of folks use multiple avatar characters depending on their mood on a given day. That's part of the appeal of SL....it allows for so many creative variables in who one can be.

The other thing that also occurs to me is by requesting RL info you're only going to get only a small portion of folks willing to share that info.....and that same small portion there's probably some similarties which will make your study biased toward that group. For a very large number of folks in SL.... the appeal is being anonymous. People aren't going to give that up for some survey...so you'll lose a lot of the more interesting aspect of what makes SL tick, I would think.

People like me.....who really don't have anything to hide.....not into using funky avatars....don't gender switch....just in it to explore and be creative.....aren't going to make for an interesting study LOL

My guess is you lost a whole bunch of people with that comment.
But I do hope you get an ‘A’!

I'll let the obvious slap in the face go and assume you did not intend to be smug.

In any dealing with computers, there is what I call a healthy level of paranoia. I don't open email attachments I did not ask for, I don't respond to anything asking for payment verification and I don't send RL info to strangers.

I do, however, spend a great deal of my work time cleaning up after those that do.

I just completed the survey and with a photo of my AV (RL photo isn't going to happen). I waited a long time but page never loaded.

Has it occurred to any of these weekly survey takers that by coming here for their data they are going to reach only English-speaking residents who read the forums AND have the time and inclination to answer questions?

The OP's Psychology Thesis Project on The Effects of Gender and Sexuality on Virtual Identity needs to be subtitled to mention that only a narrow demographic was actually being studied.

.

QFT. Demographics will be really skewed.

Totally pointless - those who wish to keep their anonymity (which will inevitably include many who are playing opposite genders etc) will not do this.

I am surprised that the OP hadn't realised that already.

Likewise, as a child avvie, I feel no great shakes to present RL-aged me.

More than this, there are real good reasons for preserving your anonymity online. IRL, about a decade ago, I hadda deal with a "cyber stalker" who managed to get enough RL information on me to track me down in the real world. It's not like the implied "somethign to hide" so much as it is a desire to maintain a rational set of boundaries.

Mari

This has nothing to do with whether or not I have anything to hide. Quite a few people in SL know a whole lot of the details of my RL, and a few have seen a RL pic of me --- but I interacted with those people in world for quite a while before we ever got to that level of trust. I am not just going to go give some stranger a picture of me for any reason.

anyone can make some survey. Is the OP who he says he is? I have no idea. So I do not do surveys. Even on the phone. Surveys do and ar nothing but curiosity seeking.

Some of us have just a little to hide. There was that unfortunate incident with the axe, for example. Well, okay, *several* incidents with the axe, and the ones with piano wire. And, I mean, who knew chloroform was contraband?

But the doc says that sort of thing probably won't happen again as long as... [note to self: Trip To Chemist]

But it's nice that others can be open. Quite nice. Yessss. Very nice, indeed....