GDD710 Development Practice Module - Week 8 - Research
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"The main inspiration will come from your creativity and your technical knowledge. But if you wish to address a broad market, one of the first things you need to realise is that people are different, they vary." - (Erik Geelhold, 2020)
Figure 1: Illustration of Research (Heather Waroff, 2017)
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This week is about one of manys worst fears, Research. This consists of user and audience research, Integrity, ethics and policy. To start off, "research" is quite a shadowy meaning. The term is defined as a process of systematic inquiry that involves a mixture of data; documentation of vital information, analysis and interpretation of that data. This is in accordance with suitable methodologies set by specific professional areas and academic regulations (Hampshire College, 2021). Research is mainly comprised to evaluate the validity of a hypothesis, as well as framework interpretation and to generate questions that adopt further inquiries. The same rules apply between user and audience research as they both assist in comprehension towards your audience and carrying out systematic evaluations based on your own innovation and creativity.
Considering one of my long term goals as to why I enrolled on this course is to become more efficient in research, this felt like the perfect opportunity to get my stuck into every relevant source possible. My fair share of user research has been involved through alot of playtesting on a broad level when playing peers projects to see any correlation between their target audience. It is something I consider to be quite valuable due to early-stage development of games. It is known to be the pinical moment of gameplay mechanics that are reaching out to the ideal player-designed experience. This is somtihing I consider myself to be quite rusty in since playtesting early-access FMPs. I would pledge to any who thrive on even the assistance in developing a game that playtesting can be a life saver when it comes to the majority of the project breaking apart just before an initial release.
I intend to incorporate more playtesting when it comes to future projects internally and externally on this course, or other peers needing some potential feedback on their current creation in the works. As an Indie, playtesting should be second to none when designing and implementing to ensure nothing potential can harm the project in the long-term. Better sooner rather and later in the development pipeline. In order to carry out ethical and integral playtesting., It is best to consider the various research methods to ensure a clean and consenual, considerable and risk free assessment. Below is a list fo the recommended methods from the given lecture sources. (Erik Geelhoed, 2020).
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Qualitative & Quantitative Methods
Qualitative:
Individual Interview (Structured/Semi-Structured)
Cognitive Walkthrough/Thinking Aloud
Group Interview
Focus Group
Participant Diary
Observations (What and Why Participants Act)
Self-Reflection from Said Researcher
Quantitative:
Questionnares
Physiological Measurements
Technology Logs/Automated Loggin of Application Uses
Observations (What, When, How Long/Often Participants Act)
Psycho-Physical Testng
What calls to me most regardoing these methods is the best of both. These being Participant Diaries as I find progressive evidence to be the best to track where you have been like a manual repository. Another being a Questionnares due to their subtle but also truthful meaning behind peers opinions to consider whether or not they like where your projects are heading. Sometimes the worst critique is the best unique. These methods shall be used in future projects to come to ensure a core insight on how others review my work.
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Ethics
Figure 2: Ethics Illustration (Alamy, 2018)
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I have only experienced ethical principles for academic purposes, which strikes as a completely different area of relevance. Ethics is classed as an application of principles full of complexity which should also ensure peoples moral opinion. Essentially a golden code of conduct everyone equally follows (David B. Resnik, 2020). These so-called guidlines are also used as disciplines that surrounds the standards of your conduct to suit particular aims or goals, to ensure help to those through events and activities that establishes public trust. It builds a bridge of communication towards those that will have disagreement on certain ethical standards and raise the issue, through a democratic solution where both sides come to mutual understanding. Looking through the other course mateiral, the lecturer provided us with a video covering two areas of heinous ethical research.
This was demonstrated through the Milgram Experiment (Milgram 1961) and the Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo 1973). Whilst covering the aspects of what makes good research and how defective on so many ethical grounds, both experiements involve such strong unsettlement through the aiding discovery in human behaviour. I was aware of such despairing events that took place, only brief documentaries advertised on history channels disregarding such strength in dark content. There is some differentiation between the experiments. For instance, Milgram entails the presence of Authority and testing levels of obedience. To an extent where torture of the worst kind takes place from superior, but inferior officials (Alcwyn Parker, 2020). Standford is looks into the hungry side of authority, being power. Both are as bad as each other to the point where lives from individuals were scarred through psychological trauma. These experiments justify how to follow a completely opposite approach when carrying out research.
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Risk Levels fo Ethics
In any type of research, we must outline our methodologies against the ethics checklist. An ethics checklist is used to identify whether applications require an ethics approval submission. The checklist takes into consideration risk levels from low, medium to high risks.
1. Low Risk - The research demonstrates no real-world threats that could come in contact with everyday life.
2. Medium Risk - The research demonstrates a potential harm or threat. Giving an amber warning is considered low proided there guidelines for mitigation to prevent further disruption.
3. High Risk - The research demonstrates high threat and harm without neccessary mitigation. More complex action must take place through approval and ongoing scrutiny from the ethics committee.
4. High Risk Continued - The research demonstrates a surge in pyschological stress, anxiety etc due to intrusive interventions from participants actions. This will cause concern over private information exposure.
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Scenarios Activity
As part of our weekly activity, we were tasked with outlining 3 given scenarios to measure the risk levels using the ethics checklist mentioned above. I struggled quite alot with this challenge as I'm not very strong when to comes to measuring content, especially with an ethical traffic light system.
Scenario 1:
"A researcher plans to interview eight artists / curators / designers for her thesis. She offers a letter of introduction about the project, gains written informed consent for the interview from each interviewee, later checks the contents of the transcription with each interviewee, allows the interviewee to withdraw comments / approve the interview record. The interviews will be used as attributed statements within the thesis. A recognised approach from oral history / social sciences / ethnography / art and design criticism and history is part of the methodology. The interviews will involve travel in the UK and abroad, the researcher has discussed her travel plans and personal safety with her supervisors." - (Falmouth University, 2020)
I consider this scenario to have a high risk due to the extensive international travel for interviews, unless it was over a webinar. Unlikely scheduling can strain some anxiety and stress due to the pressure of travel. Interview has not subject of matter for discussion which can cause unwanted questions regarding an individuals personal background, commiting a higher risk in breaking conduct of information.
Scenario 2
"A researcher plans to interview around 30 producers of legitimate graffiti at the Southbank Undercroft. Participants were to be interviewed about their opinions and ideas regarding activities and future possibilities for the Undercroft, and also where relevant, their own graffiti habits and key trends in graffiti practices." - (Falmouth University, 2020)
There is not enough description or insight on this scenario. Mixed research involving groups and individuals. Accessibility to personal information can raise concerns and discomfort towards recognisable individuals. All dependencies are based on the views on cultural beliefs which can raise misdirection and potential predjudice. This would be classed as medium risk, on the brink to high depending again on conduct.
Scenario 3
"A researcher plans to interview around 30 producers of legitimate graffiti at the Southbank Undercroft. Participants were to be interviewed about their opinions and ideas regarding activities and future possibilities for the Undercroft, and also where relevant, their own graffiti habits and key trends in graffiti practices." - (Falmouth University, 2020)
This scenario involves fraudulant actions. This is an instant high risk. The threat of information being misheld can cause alot of drawbacks in the long-term without a participants permission to prevent exposure. This would potentially trigger psychological impacts, causing a legal action for illigal action.
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References:
Hampshire College, 2021. What is Research? [Online] Available at: https://www.hampshire.edu/dof/what-is-research [Last Accessed 24/04/2021]
Erik Geelhoed, 2020. Week 8: User and Audience Research. [Online] Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/912/pages/week-8-user-and-audience-research?module_item_id=54130 [Last Accessed 24/08/2021]
David B. Resnik, 2020. What Is Ethics in Research & Why Is It Important? [Online] Available at:
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/whatis/index.cfm [Last Accessed 24/08/2021]
Alcwyn Parker, 2020. Week 8: Integrity, Ethics and Policy. [Online] Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/912/pages/week-8-integrity-ethics-and-policy?module_item_id=54131 [Last Accessed 24/08/2021]
Falmouth University, 2020. Week 8: Challenge Activity. [Online] Available at: https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/912/discussion_topics/22185?module_item_id=54132 [Last Accessed 24/08/2021]
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