A chance to earn 2000 lindens- looking for participants!

I am a psychology student working on my master thesis.

My thesis is about Second Life and relationships (virtual and real ones). I am looking for participants for my study, and below you will find the link to a questionnaire. The aim of this questionnaire is to select informants for the study. Should you choose to fill out this questionnaire, and should you also be selected for the actual interview, the interview will take place in Second Life (voice). The interview will last about one hour and as a thank-you (after having completed the interview), you will receive 2000 Lindens. In order to be contacted for the actual interview you will have to add your full avatar name to the questionnaire. Every detail about yourself in the questionnaire will be regarded as strictly confidential. This means that only the one writer (and their supervisor) of the thesis will have access to your information, and no one else. You will never be asked about your real name, and your second life name will not be mentioned in the thesis.
Answer the questions truthfully. If you complete the questionnaire, and add your full avatar name you will be contacted later on so that you know whether your information meets the criteria of the study or not. If you have any questions please contact Klara Lamilton (thesis writer) in-world or send an e-mail to [email]klaralamilton@yahoo.com[/email].

Thank you so much for participating!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9WHCVZ9

/me gets the popcorn

Many like you ignored have we. Or ridiculed.

I would just note by way of being helpful and not snarky that limiting your interview to voice will cut out a large proportion of the population -- how large is hard to measure, but I'd guess over half. Certainly no one I know uses voice.

THey will probably ask their subjects to demonstrate the noises they make while having the sechs in SL.

Makes no sense otherwise. By using voice, they have to take notes or make a recording and then transcribe what is said into their report. So why not do it all in text, then and just cut and paste salient passages into their report? (other than being against the ToS, I mean )

I am aware of the fact that not a lot of people are using voice in sl. The reason I am chosing to do so is because it's already a bit difficult to motivate this study and its method (interviewing the anonymous people behind avatars). And so, after a lot of consideration I believe voice to be the best method for collecting data for my study, as voice enables the informant to speak freely. The best alternative would of course have been to meet with the person face-to-face but obviously this isn't possible and so a semi-structured voice interview seems to be the best way to go.

I'd go so far as to say this survey takes out the grand prize for EPIC fail of all the survey requests!

YOU deciding that voice is what YOU want is just showing how much YOU don't understand US. What YOU should of done is said something like: "I'd like to interview using voice, but if you do not wish to do so, then I will use your preferred method".

It is of course voluntary to fill out this questionnaire. I have come to this conclusion (using voice) after having discussed the matter with my university. There will always be people with opinions, and I respect that. But in order to make my study as trustworthy as possible I have chosen this method.

LOL

First up you are asking us to help you, for the best results you should bend to our wishes, not the other way around.

Second, The entire voice thing I suspect is a way of ensuring your talking to a female when you think you are, or a male, for that matter, when you think you are. Ever heard of a voice changer? Anyone can sound like the opposite sex.

Third, Your statement above insults us further by implying we aren't trustworthy - GOOD JOB!

2000 Lindens is nothing to sneeze at. I will refrain from snarky replies, as we have in past suggested that researchers begin by offering funds. Now here we have one who does. (And if this is a real academic study, of course the data would need to have some integrity.)

I will not, however, be able to participate in this survey, so I suppose that's a moot point.



.

First of all, the gender of the informant is not relevant, that is not why I am chosing voice as a method for collecting data. Secondly, the word trustworthy is about the method not the informants. A study about second life is rather new to the scientific world and so I want to do whatever I can to make sure my study will be taken seriously.
If you want to to continue this discussion I welcome you to contact me in-world.

Could you have picked a better word than "informant"?

Interviewee or candidate might be a better choice.

I think just because it's a survey it doesn't have to be shot down in flames. Not every survey we see here is a scam.

The OP seems genuine enough and participants should always check before leaping into an abyss anyway. AND There IS an offer of Two Thousand Lindens to do the survey as a good enticement.

Maybe the OP could offer a second way of checking for genuineosity, a peer perhaps that can confirm the surveys' credentials.

It won't be taken seriously because you won't get good data, voice won't change that.

and why should I take it in world, it far more fun to do it here in the forums, and who knows, maybe the next student wanting to study us might actually think twice if they read it.

p.s. It's Friday! Can we make this the official Friday Thread, I'll bring the pie!

When the participants have been selected for the study, my supervisor will verify the study on request. The study is being performed at a swedish university.

The surveymonkey questionnaire seems to be screening for people who are in a "SL relationship", so if (like me) you aren't, I wouldn't bother filling it out.

You want to be in one? We can split the 2K.

Some people just don't like being monkeys or guinea pigs in anyone's "study". And the defiant group you find in this (and most other) forums is certainly not the ideal place to ask for volunteers.

Achoo! The 2000 bucks are only for those chosen for further study, not the questionnaire-filler-outers.

Errr, because people who know nothing about SL know more about what would work in SL than the people who live in SL?

Logic like that does make it seem very much like a University study.

I did the survey

/me peeks from behind the sofa and asks so you do know that there are voice programs that change your voice right?

And I duck back behind the sofa

That's not very reassuring. What university? Why are you not using your university mail instead of Yahoo? Why do you not name yourself and your supervisor right now and include your university affiliation, the name of your study, and legitimate contact information? How can you guarantee that your study is in compliance with appropriate Swedish and E.U. statutes governing the use of human subjects in research?

I've taken part in academic studies in psychology in SL. UI runs one that's a blast (look for the "Harvesting" game in Events.) They are also absolutely transparent: you know who the researchers are, what they've published, and a little bit of what they're looking at when you go in to participate. You have quite a ways to go to meet that standard of transparency and professionalism, and vague responses like this one take you no closer.

I dont doubt your intnetions BUT - but - you are writing a Master's Thesis on a world that has depth and complexity after only being here a few month (less than a year) and this is in Psychology. So, if I ever need a psychologist you will be available as the expert on sl while peopel in reality tumble around you with real issues.

You confirm everything I suspect about post secondary education (and even secondary education) - that it is really out to lunch. Live in sl as I have done for 4 years (with time off for real world activities, then write a book review but this place isnt worth a thesis.

I got here as quick as I could!

"Similarly, some of the first educators and researchers in SL were a bit clumsy in their approach. There were early incidents in which Residents felt—rightly—that they were being spied upon or treated like guinea pigs rather than human beings. Imagine how you would feel if an entire class of students set up right next to your vacation hideaway, left trash lying around, logged your conversations, and posted them on the Internet with criticism and mean-spirited comments. This is exactly what happened to some early Residents. Things have improved greatly in the years since then, but sometimes SL Residents are still subject to that kind of inconsiderate behavior. For example, a constant stream of researchers (often students) posts on the Second Life official forums requesting that Residents please take their surveys. Most of these surveys include the same questions that have been asked over and over. Often they aren't spell-checked, or refer to SL as a game—a sure way to irritate a substantial number of Residents. Some Residents make a hobby of critiquing these surveys, pointing out how the questions and their wording make it clear that the researcher isn't familiar with Second Life. Some post outright that they are sick of badly planned surveys and suggest that the researchers log in and do their own research."

From The Second Life Grid: The Official Guide to Communication, Collaboration, and Community Engagement
by Kimberly Rufer-Bach
ISBN-13: 9780470412916