Virtual World Collaboration Study

We are currently conducting a study in our virtual world, investigating experience design aspects for collaboration in 3D virtual worlds. This page serves as a call for participation; teams of participants can take part from virtually anywhere on the planet.

Purpose of the study
With this study we are investigating two distinct features of the medium virtual world in particular: the feature of being together and navigating in a configurable space using customized avatars, and the option of incorporating 3D objects into collaborative work. Three experiment conditions differ in their ways of making use of these aspects, so that the findings of the study will give insights concerning design aspects for virtual world collaboration experiences. We are also looking at virtual team behavior and leadership emergence within this teamwork.

Design of the study
The study procedure includes a short pre-questionnaire, a team collaboration exercise in our 3D virtual world, and a post-questionnaire. The collaboration exercise itself consists of three simple collaboration tasks (information sharing, brainstorming, and decision-making) that are solved in a virtual team of five members. Collaboration and communication takes place in the virtual world, without voice chat. The three collaboration tasks all relate to a simple fictitious project. Directions and hints will be given on an info sheet and on signposts in the virtual environment.

Participant Profile
It is not required for participants to have any prior experience with virtual worlds or online collaboration systems in general. The virtual environment and the tools and activities in it are designed in a very intuitive and comprehensive way.
A non-remote version of this study was approved by the Human Subjects Committee (the Institutional Review Board) at PARC, Inc., CA.

Participant Revenue
Participants take home hands-on experience with virtual environments for collaborative work and innovative approaches for designing collaborative activities. These approaches can be transferred to and inspire other virtual and digitally augmented collaboration settings. The participants can further opt in to be updated on the results of the study and the findings of the research project, and are otherwise invited to check back here.

Setting, Duration, and Compensation
The study takes place in a fully-online setting. A regular computer is required on which Imprudence can be installed in order to connect to our virtual world server. The study including questionnaires takes approximately 1 hour.

Contact
If you are interested in participating or if you have students or colleagues who might be interested in participating please forward this link or contact us at andreas.schmeil _at_ gmail.com or just leave a (privately treated) reply here below. Thanks!