motivationteam

KelliMonahan.
InformationSeekinginWorldofWarcraft.
AMaster'sPaperfortheM.
S.
inI.
Sdegree.
April,2009.
51pages.
Advisor:GaryMarchionini.
ThisstudyexamineshowusersoftheimmersivevirtualenvironmentWorldofWarcraftlookforinformationtomeetin-worldinformationneedsandparticularlywhethertheabilityofuserstoseeandinteractwithotherin-worldusershasimpactedtheirinformation-seekinghabits.
Sixteenparticipantswereinterviewedaboutwhatinformationtheysought,whatsourcestheyused,andwhy.
Whileparticipants'purposefulinformationseekingwasfairlysimilartothatfoundinotherstudiesofeverydaylifeoronlineinformationseeking,WorldofWarcraftallowedparticipantstoincidentallyacquireinformationwhenotherplayersnoticedthataparticipantseemedtolacksomeinformationandvolunteeredit.
Furthermore,althoughinonlinetext-basedcommunities,acommunitymembermustchoosetoshareinformationforparticipantstoacquireit,inWorldofWarcraft,participantscansometimesgainobservingotherplayersevenifthoseplayersdidnotconsciouslyintendtoprovideinformation.
Headings:VirtualrealityWorldofWarcraft(Website)InformationneedsInternetgamesInformationretrieval/SocialaspectsINFORMATIONSEEKINGINWORLDOFWARCRAFTbyKelliMonahanAMaster'spapersubmittedtothefacultyoftheSchoolofInformationandLibraryScienceoftheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHillinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofMasterofScienceinInformationScience.
ChapelHill,NorthCarolinaApril2009ApprovedbyGaryMarchionini1TableofContentsIntroduction.
2Background.
6Methodology.
18Results.
20Discussion.
37References.
43Appendix.
472IntroductionWithover11millionsubscribersasofOctober2008,WorldofWarcraftisoneofthemostpopularimmersivevirtualenvironmentsonlinetoday.
Immersivevirtualenvironmentsincludemassivelymulti-playeronlinerole-playinggames(MMORPGs)suchasWorldofWarcraft,Everquest,Warhammer,andothers,aswellasunstructuredvirtualenvironmentssuchasSecondLife.
Whatmakestheseworldsdifferentfromtraditionalcomputergamesisthepresenceofotherplayers,representedbythree-dimensionalavatars,inthesameworld.
Whenplayershaveaninformationneedin-world,theyhavetheoptionofleavingtheworldtoconsultinformationsourcesoutsideorlookingfortheinformationin-world,oftenbyaskingotherplayersorobservingthemtoseewhattheydo.
Todate,fewstandardizedinformationresourceshavebeenbuiltintothesevirtualworldsandthewidespreaduseoftheseenvironmentsraisesthequestion:HastheabilitytointeractwithotheruserswithintheworldimpactedWorldofWarcraftusers'information-seekingbehaviorWorldofWarcraftisahigh-fantasyMMORPG.
Playerscompletequests,killvarioushostilecreatures(mobs),teamuptoworkthroughdungeons,and,whentheircharactersreachthehighestlevels,formlargergroupstodefeattougherbossesinraids.
Playerscanalsocreateorjoinaguild.
Guildshavetheirownchatchannelandwilloftenorganizegroupsfordungeonsandraids.
Playerscreatecharactersfromseveraldifferentraces(e.
g.
elf,human,dwarf,orc,troll)dividedbetweentwosides:AllianceandHorde.
Theycancustomizetheircharacter'sappearanceandchooseaclass,whichdetermines3whatabilitiestheircharacterswillhave,andselectuptotwoadditionalprofessions(e.
g.
alchemy,leatherworking,orenchanting).
Playerscanhavemorethanonecharacter.
However,AlliancecharacterscanonlycommunicatewithotherAlliancecharacters,notHordecharacters,andvice-versa.
Furthermore,thesubscribersaredividedovermultiple"realms"orservers.
Characterscanonlycommunicatewithothercharactersontheirserver,butplayerscanhavecharactersonseveralservers.
Therearefourdifferentkindsofservers,allofwhichlendthemselvestodifferenttypesofplayerinteraction.
OnPlayer-versus-Player(PvP)servers,playersonopposingsidesareexpectedtoattackeachotherwhenevertheyencounteroneanother.
OnPlayer-versus-Environment(PvE,alsocalledNormal)servers,playershavetheoptionofflaggingforPvP,whichallowsothercharacterstoattackthemandletstheminturnattackothercharacterswhoareflagged.
However,playerscannotattackorbeattackedbynon-flaggedplayers.
Onrole-playing(RP)servers,playersaresupposedtostayincharacteratalltimes(thoughinpractice,thisisnotalwaysthecase)andmaydevelopstorylinesthemselvesoutsideofthegeneralstorydesignedbyBlizzardforthequests.
Playersmaydevelopbackstoriesfortheircharactersandinteractwithotherplayers'characters,eitherhelpingorhinderingthem,basedonwhattheyfeeltheircharacterwoulddo.
Finally,RP-PvPserverscombinerole-playingandplayer-versus-player.
Playershaveanumberofwaysofcommunicatingwitheachotherandgaininginformation.
Blizzardprovidesforumsathttp://www.
worldofwarcraft.
com,andplayershavecreatednumerouswebsites,forums,wikis,andotherresources.
PlayerscanusethesesitestoshareinformationwithoneanotheraboutwherecertainNPCs(non-playercharacters,whichcanbecharacterswhowillhelpaplayer'scharacterorwhotheplayer's4charactermustfight)oritemsarelocated,thebestwaytodefeatcertainbosses,andwhatlootdifferentcharactersdrop(whatitemsyoureceiveforkillingacertaincharacter).
Inthisrespect,WorldofWarcraftisverysimilartomanyothervideooronlinegames.
Playersstuckatacertainpointinavideogamecanturntothecomputerandsearchfortipsordetailedwalkthroughs,writtenbyplayerswhohavealreadybeatenthegame,tofigureoutwhattodonext.
Onlinegamesandvirtualcommunitiesmayhavewaysofcommunicatingwithotherplayers(suchasmessageboardsormailsystems)aswellasplayer-createdoutsideresources.
WhatmakesWorldofWarcraftandsimilarvirtualenvironmentsdifferentisthatplayerscanalsoseeandcommunicatewitheachotherin-world.
Playerscanaskquestionsonachatchannelviewedbyallplayersontheentireserver,allplayersinthesamearea,playersintheirguildorparty,orthroughprivatemessages("whispers")toasingleplayer.
Chatcanbetext-orvoice-based.
Furthermore,playerscanobservethecharactersofotherplayersandcanworktogetherwiththem.
Thus,aplayerinWorldofWarcraftwhoisstuckatacertainpointnotonlyhastheoptionofleavingWorldofWarcrafttoconsultanexternalresourceonlineorintherealworldbutmightalsoaskahigher-levelplayerforhelp,watchotherplayersintheareatoseewhattheydoorwheretheygo,orasksomeoftheotherplayerswhoseemtobeworkingonthesametaskiftheywanttogroup,sharingtheirinformationandabilitieswithoneanother.
Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexaminehow,ifatall,playersusethesecapabilitiestoobserve,communicatewith,andbeassistedbyotherplayerstofindinformation,focusingonthreemainresearchquestions.
First,towhatextentdousersinWorldofWarcraftuseresourcesinthatworldforinformationseekingDoplayersuse5eachotherasinformation-seekingresourcesin-world,ordotheystillprefertocheckanoutsideresourceSecond,whatkindsofinformationdousersseekin-worldDoquestionstendtobefairlyshortandspecific,suchas"WhereisXlocated",ordotheyattempttofindanswerstomoreopen-endedquestions,"WhatisthebestwaytodoX"Finally,howdousersseekinformationwithinWorldofWarcraftDoplayersattempttoobserveorworkwithothersordotheyprimarilyaskquestionsviachatForquestionstheyaskusingchat,whichchannelsdotheypreferDoplayerswhisperprivatelytoaparticularuserorthrowouttheirquestionforanyoneontheservertoanswer6BackgroundSeveralresearchershavelookedathowpeoplelookforinformationineverydaylife.
Savolainenfoundthatrespondentspreferredsourcesthatwerereadilyavailableandeasilyaccessible(Savolainen,1995).
JulienandMichelsfoundsimilarresultsaswell(Julien&Michels,2004).
Savolainenalsofoundthatrespondentstendedtopreferinformalsourcesandpersonalcommunication(Savolainen,1995).
Inalaterstudyfocusedspecificallyonsourcepreference,Savolainenfoundthatparticipantsusedsourcesinfivemaingroups.
Participantsnaturallytendedtogrouptheirsourcesintothreezonesofimportance,whichalsocorrespondedwiththezonesusedinSavolainen'sconceptualmodel:mostimportant,ofsecondaryimportant,andofmarginalimportance.
Humansourceswerethemostpreferredtypeofsourceinthefirsttwozonesbecausetheycouldprovidefiltered,easy,andquickaccesstoinformation,couldinteractwiththepersonseekinginformationtoclarifyissues,andmayhavedealtwithasimilarproblembefore.
RespondentsalsocitedhumansourcesasasourceofideasanddescribedwhatSavolainencalls"informationbyproxy,"inwhichahumansourcemonitorsothersourcesofinformationandletstheseekerknowifanythingisdiscovered.
Inaddition,participantssometimesdidinitialresearchonatopic,suchaslookingatdifferentcomputermodelstodecidewhichonetopurchase,usingothertypesofsourcesandthenconsultedhumansourcesforfeedbackbeforemakingthefinaldecision.
Theothergroupsofsourcesthatparticipantsmentionedwereprintedmaterials,networkedsources(i.
e.
theinternet),organizationalsources,andothersources.
Printed7sourceswerevaluedfortheirabilitytoprovidefactualinformationandwereusedforbothorientinginformationandproblem-specificinformationandplacedfairlyevenlyinallthreezones.
Networkedsourceswerevaluedfortheamountofinformationthatwasavailableandthespeedwhichitcouldbeaccessedandupdated.
Respondentsalsoindicatedthattheypreferrednetworkedsourcesbecausetheycouldeasilycomparedifferentsourcesandaccessdifferentviewpoints.
Organizationalsourcesandothersourceswerepreferredlessoften.
Overall,respondentsmostoftenpreferredsourcesbasedonthecontentofinformation,followedbytheavailabilityandaccessibilityofinformation,andusuallystartedwithahumanorinternetsource(Savolainen,2008).
Theinternetisanincreasinglypopularinformationsource,largelyforitsconvenienceandimmediateavailability.
Leestudiedinformationseekingamongundergraduatestudentsandfoundthatconveniencewasanimportantconsiderationwhenchoosinginformation.
Twelveofthefifteenstudentsinthestudyusedinternetsources,usuallyfoundthroughGooglekeywordsearches.
Leenotedthatrespondentstendedtorelyonalimitednumberofsourcesandsearchstrategiesandwereunawareofotherpotentiallyusefulonesandtheytheypreferredsourcesthatwereeasytouseandcouldbeaccessedimmediately(Lee,2008).
Similarly,SaitiandProkopiadoub,lookingatpost-graduatestudents,foundthat77.
3percentofrespondentsselectedtheinternetoverthelibraryastheirprimaryinformationsourceforfourmainreasons:informationisofrelativelygoodqualityandup-to-date,informationcanbeaccessedeasily,informationcanberetrievedatanytime,andinformationcanbeaccessedandretrievedquickly(Saiti&Prokopiadou,2008).
AlthoughMill,whenlookingatsourcescitedinundergraduatepapers,foundthat8traditionalliteraturewascitedmuchmoreoftenthangeneralwebresources,Millalsofoundthatthat75percentofthejournalscitedwereavailableelectronically.
Likewise,thepapersMillexaminedcitedagreaternumberofolderjournalsthanasimilar,olderstudy.
Millspeculatesthatthisisbecauseolderjournalscannowbeaccessedelectronicallyratherthanonlyinprintormicroform(Mill,2008).
Internetsourcesandonlineinformationseekinginparticularhavebeenstudiedbyanumberofresearchers.
Tombros,Ruthven,andJosestudiedhowawebpage'sfeaturesaffectedpeople'sperceptionofitsusefulnessandhowthatperceptionchangedasthesearchprogressed.
Textwasthemostimportantcategorytosubjectsoverall,andthetwofeaturesmostoftenusedtodetermineifadocumentwasusefulbasedonthatfeaturealone,contentandappearanceofuser'squeryterms,bothfellunderthiscategory.
However,whichfeaturesweremostimportanttousersdependedinpartonwhatkindoftasktheyweredoing(Tombros,Ruthven,&Jose,2005).
ByronandYoungexaminedwhethertraditionalinformation-seekingbehaviorpatterns(thestagesofKuthlau'sinformationsearchprocessmodel)occurredinavirtuallearningenvironment.
Theyfoundthatthestudentsdidexhibitthestagesoftraditionalinformationseekingregardlessoftheirlevelofcomputerskill(Byron&Young,2000).
Kellylookedatcontextinonlineinformationseekingbydoctoralstudentsandfoundthattheirinformation-seekingbehaviorschangedbasedonthestageoftheinformation-seekingprocesstheywerein,thetypeoftask,thetopicandknowledgetheyhadaboutthetopic,andwhethertheyhadpreviouslysearchedforthisinformation.
Participantsoftenneededtouseboththetaskandthetopictodescribetheirinformationneedandtheysometimesindicateddifferentlevelsoffamiliarityforeach.
Forinstance,theymaybe9veryfamiliarwiththetaskoffindinginformationorshoppingonlinebutlessfamiliarwiththespecificsubjectoronlineclothingstore(Kelly,2006a;Kelly,2006b).
Chooetal.
studiedhowknowledgeworkersusedtheinternettolookforinformation.
Theyadaptedotherinformationseekingorviewingmodelstomodelbehavioralmodesandmovesofonlineinformationseeking.
Informationseekingmodesreportedbytheirstudyparticipantscouldbedividedintofourcomplementaryinformation-seekingmodes:undirectedviewing,conditionedviewing,informalsearch,andformalsearch(Choo,Detlor,&Turnbull,2000).
Belkindiscusseshowpeopleinneedofinformationmaynotknowexactlywhattheyarelookingforandthuswillnotbeabletoidentify"salientcharacteristicsofpotentiallyusefulinformationobjects.
"However,mostinformationretrievalsystemsrequirethemtodoso.
Belkinsuggeststhatusingsomeformofrelevancefeedbackinaninformationretrievalsystemmightassistpeopleinfindingusefulinformationobjects(Belkin,2000).
Porembaalsoobserves,"Atypicalwebsearchcanbetime-consumingandineffectual.
Togettotheinformationyouactuallyneed,youhavetoknowtheexactwordsinordertobringuptherightresults(orwadethroughmassesofresults).
"LikeBelkin,sheproposesmakingchangestotheinformationretrievalsystem.
Porembasuggestsusingdynamicnavigationsothatuserscanrefinetheirrequestandgetanoverviewofthecontentofasite(Poremba,2008).
BelkinandPorembabothattempttosuggestwaysthataninformationretrievalsystemcouldinteractwithuserstoclarifytheuser'sinformationneed—oneoftheadvantagestohumansourcesnamedbyparticipantsinSavolenien'sstudy.
Whenusersdonotknowexactlywhattheyarelookingforordonotrealizetheyhaveaninformationneed,onlineinformationseekingcanbedifficult.
10Peopledonotfindalloftheirinformationthroughqueriesposedtoaparticularresource.
Oneformofinformationseekingdiscussedbyseveralresearchersisincidentalinformationacquisition.
Heinstromdefinesthisformofinformationacquisitionas"acquiring(usefulorinteresting)informationwhilenotconsciouslylookingforit.
"Thisrequirestheabilitytorecognizeusefulinformationwhenitisencounteredandenoughbasictopicalknowledgeandmotivationtoprocesstheinformationonceencountered(Heinstrom,2006).
StudiesofincidentalinformationacquisitionbuildonthatofErdelez'sworkoninformationencountering,whichshediscussesasanimportantpartofbrowsingandinformationseeking.
Informationencounteringcanberelatedtoaspecificproblem,oritcanbeinterest-related,inwhichcaseitaddressesageneralinterestorconcernoftheencounterer.
Erdelezfoundthatrespondentshaddifferentperceptionsofinformationencountering.
Super-encounterersreportedoftenexperiencinginformationencounteringandreliedonitaspartoftheirinformationbehavior.
Encounterersreportedoftenexperiencinginformation-encounteringbutdidnotseeitasconnectedtotheirinformation-seekingbehavior.
Occasionalencounterersexperiencedinformation-encounteringnowandthenbutmerelysawitaslucky.
Finally,nonencounterersreportedseldom,ifever,encounteringinformationwithoutsearchingforit.
Erdelezarguedthatinformationencountering"canprovideinformationuserswithinformationthatisasusefulandapplicableasinformationacquiredbydirectedandfocusedinformationseeking"(Erdelez,1997).
Williamsonlookedatincidentalinformationacquisitionamongagroupofseniors.
Participantsprimarilyusedhumansourcestogatherinformation.
Friendsandfamily11werethemostfrequentlyusedsourceofinformationforbothpurposefulinformationseekingandincidentalacquisition.
Aphonecalltocatchupwithafamilyorfriendoftenledtooneofthepartieslearningotherinformation,suchasanewtreatmentformigraines,astheconversationprogressed.
Insomecases,suchastheavailabilityofaSeniorCard,thepersonwhoacquiredtheinformationincidentallydidnotknowtherewasagapinhirknowledgeuntilsieencounteredthenewinformation(Williamson,1998).
Heinstromexaminedhowpersonalitycharacteristicsaffectedone'stendencytodiscoverinformationserendiptiously(Heinstrom,2006).
Burnettexaminedhoweverydaylifeinformationseekingandincidentalinformationacquisitionoccuronlineinvirtualcommunitiesanddevelopedatypologyforbehaviorsinvirtualcommunities.
Behaviorscanbenon-interactive,inwhichaperson"lurks"inthecommunity,readingatleastsomepartsofthetextscreatedbyothermembersbutneverpostinginreturn.
Thelurkerstillgathersinformationfromthetextsread.
Lurkingissomewhatdifferentfromsilentlylisteningtoaface-to-faceconversationbecausethelurkerisinvisible.
Interactivebehaviorscanbehostileorcollaborative/positive.
Hostilebehaviorsarevariousformsof"verbalviolence,"whichincludeflaming(insultingad-hominemattacks),trolling(postswhosesoleintentistoangerothercommunitymembers),spamming(unsolicited"junkmail"posts,althoughthosepostscanoccasionallyprovideneededinformation),andinthemostextremeexamples,cyber-rape.
Collaborativeorpositivebehaviors,ontheotherhand,canbeinformation-orientedornot-informationoriented.
Not-information-orientedbehaviorsincludemaking"smalltalk"withothermembers,engaginginlanguagegamesorothertypesofplay,and12providingemotionalsupporttomembers.
Communitymembersalsoshareinformationthroughinformation-orientedbehaviors.
Theseincludeannouncements,queries,andoccasionallydirectedgroupprojects,suchasafundraiserorletter-writingcampaign.
Queriescanbedirectedtothewholegrouportoaparticularmemberwithinthegroup,andanswersmaybetheinformationitselforpointerstoresourcesthatcanprovidetheinformation.
Membersmayalsodisagreewithoneanotherabouttheanswer.
Burnettfindsthat"muchoftheinformationactivitytakingplacewithinvirtualcommunitiescanbeconsideredincidentalinformationgathering"becauseothercommunitymemberswhodidnotposttheoriginalquerymaystilllearnfromtheensuingdiscussion(Burnett,2000).
BurnettandBuerklelaterappliedBurnett'stypologytocomparetwodifferentUsenetsupportgroups.
Theyfoundthatnearly60percentofGroupA'spostswereinformation-related,whileonly36percentofGroupB'swere.
Onlinecommunities,evenoneswithfairlysimilarstatedpurposes,canvarywidelyintheamountofinformationtheirmembersshare(Burnett&Buerkle,2004).
Althoughthesestudieshavefocusedontext-basedvirtualcommunities,recentresearchhasalsolookedatvariousformsofcommunicationandinformationbehaviorsinimmersivevirtualenvironments.
InhisstudyofhowuserswouldtagaparticularplaceinSecondLifeandhowthosetermscorrespondedtothetermschosenbytheplaceowners,TayloralsoexaminedhowusersinSecondLifefoundinformation.
Themostpopularmethodswereaskingin-worldfriends,selectedby93percentofrespondents,usingthein-worldsearchengine,selectedby90percentofrespondents,andaskingotheravatars,selectedby86percent.
AntonijevicstudiednonverbalcommunicationperformedbyavatarsinSecond13Lifeandfoundthatuser-definednonverbalcommunications,suchasthepositionofanavataranditsdistancefromotheravatars,couldimproveinteraction.
Ontheotherhand,predefinednonverbalcommunicationsthatareperformedautomaticallybythesystem,suchaschanginganavatar'sposeiftheuserisidle,arelesssuccessfulbecauseitisdifficultforotherstotellwhatthecommunicationissupposedtomean.
Antonijevicconcludes,"Nonverbalcommunicationinonlinesettingsthusbecomesanincreasinglyrelevantresearchtopic,whichrevealsnotjustatransitionbetweentwotypesofonlinecommunication,butalso—andmoreimportantly—atransitionbetweentwotypesofonlineexperience"(Antonijevic,2008).
Blascovichfoundthatclassicsocialinfluenceeffects,suchassocialfacilitation/inhabitationandconformity,couldbereplicatedinavirtualenvironment(Blascovich,2002).
Likewise,SlaterandSteedfoundthatpeopledo"respondstrongly"tootherpeople'savatarsaspeople,although,becauseofthelackofemotionalresponseandgesturesintheavatarsstudied,theresponsewasnotasstrongasitwaswhentheparticipantsmetinreallife.
Nevertheless,inoneexperiment,agroupofactorswhohadnotmetoutsideofthevirtualenvironmentwereabletodeveloprapportwitheachotherandthedirectorandrehearseashortplaytoperformoutsideoftheenvironment(Slater&Steed,2002).
Someresearchershaveconsideredthepotentialforimmersivevirtualenvironmentsinotherareas.
HaycockandKemplookedathowSanJoseUniversity'sSchoolofLibraryandInformationScienceusedSecondLifetoconducttwograduate-levellibraryandinformationscienceclasses.
ThestudentssurveyedreportedenjoyingusingSecondLifeasalearningsettingfordistanceeducation.
However,theyfoundthat14SecondLifedidnotsupportallformsofcommunication.
SecondLifeofferednosupportforlongdocumentsorasynchronousmessagethreads,sostudentsdisagreedthatwritinginSecondLifeshouldbetheonlywritingrequiredforaclass(Haycock&Kemp,2008).
Inanotherstudyofimmersivevirtualenvironments'potential,KockconsideredhowSecondLifeandWorldofWarcraftcouldbeusedfore-collaborationande-commerceforreal-worldactivities.
KockfoundthatWorldofWarcrafthadlimitede-collaborationande-commercepotentialduetoitsstructuredenvironmentbutthatitcouldpossiblybeusedasastimulationenvironment.
Forinstance,avirtualplaguethatspreadin-worldmimickedthewayrealplaguesarespread(Kock,2008).
Otherresearchershavelookedathowusersworktogetherandlearnfromeachotherinimmersivevirtualenvironments.
BrownandBellexaminedcollaborativeplayintheimmersivevirtualenvironmentThereandfoundthatTherealloweduserstoshareactivitiestogether.
Manyoftheseactivitieswerecreatedbytheusersthemselvesratherthanthegamedesigners(Brown&Bell,).
NardiandHarrisalsolookedatcollaborativeplay,thistimeinWorldofWarcraft.
Theyfoundvariousformsofcollaborationbetweenbothstrangersandfriends,whichtheydividedintothreegroups:communities,knots,andpairwisecollaborationsbetweenfriends.
Communitiesarelong-termgroupswithcommontiesandsocialinteractions.
InWorldofWarcraft,thesecollaborationsoccurredinguilds.
CommunitiesinWorldofWarcraftalsofostercollaborative,non-information-orientedbehavior.
NardiandHarrisfoundthat"mostofthesociablenon-game-relatedchattakesplaceintheguildchannel.
"Knotsare"uniquegroupsthatformtocompleteataskofrelativelyshortduration.
"Playerscollaboratedintheveryshort-termtobuffoneanother,assista15strugglingplayer,escortalower-levelplayerthroughadangerousarea,answerquestionsaskedononeofthegeneralchatchannels,ortradeitems.
Playersalsoformedmorestructuredshort-termcollaborationsthentheyformedpartiestocompleteacertainquestorworkthroughaninstanceorraid.
Theyfoundeachotherbyusingthe"LookingforGroup"toolprovidedbyBlizzard,askingpeopletheyseeinthesamearea,orwhisperingtoplayerstheymayhaveworkedwithbefore.
Playersalsojoinedteamstofightanotherteamofplayersonabattleground.
Inaddition,playerssometimesformedknotstocollaborateinactivitiesthatwerenotpartofthestructuredgame.
NardiandHarrisrefertotheseas"randomactsoffun"andincludeusingemotes(setnonverbalcommunicationsplayerscanchoosetohavetheircharactersperform)todancetogether(sometimesfirststrippingavatarsdowntotheirunderwear),ridingincirclestoshowoffaspecialeffect,formingacongaline,andluringadragonintooneofthecapitalcities.
Finally,pairsoffriendsmaycollaboratedbychatting,seekingandgivingadvice,sendingeachotheritems,andgroupingtogether.
Furthermore,playersusedWorldofWarcrafttoplaywithofflinefriendsandfamilyorasatopicofofflineconversation.
Participantsindicatedthatvariousformsofcollaborationincreasedthefuntheyhadwhileplayingthegameandalsoallowedthemtolearnfromotherplayers.
NearlyallplayersinNardiandHarris'sstudyusedthechatchannelstoseekinformationandlearnedwhatotherclassescoulddoandhowtoadjusttheirstrategieswhileingroups.
PlayersalsocollaboratedoutsideWorldofWarcraftthroughthecreationanduseofwebsites,forums,andmods.
Theoutsideresourcesextendthe"ethosofhelpingandaskingforhelp"thatcollaborationwithinthegamefosters(B.
Nardi&Harris,2006).
Nardi,Ly,andHarrislaterlookedspecificallyatoneformofcollaboration,16learningconversationsthroughchat.
LearninginWorldofWarcraftoftenoccursinthe"zoneofproximaldevelopment"inwhichlearnertakesonachallengeandusesresourcesfromateacherorpeerstoaccomplishit.
Muchoftheinformationgatheredthroughchatconversationwasfact-finding,usuallyaccomplishedthroughsimplequestion-answerexchanges.
However,intheconversation,aplayermayprovideadditionalinformationthatthequestionerdidnotknowsiedidnotknow.
Forinstance,aplayermayaskifanyoneelseinhirguildcanuseaparticularitem.
IntheexampleNardi,Ly,andHarrisgive,aplayeroffereduptheitemVolatileRum.
However,anotherplayervolunteeredthatthequestionershouldselltherumattheAuctionHouseinsteadbecauseitcouldbeusedtomakeanotheritemandwasthereforefairlyvaluable.
Learningconversationscanalsocovertacticsandstrategy.
Incombat,oneplayermayofferfeedbackonhowanotherplayercouldimprove.
InoneofNardi,Ly,andHarris'sexamples,oneplayertoldanotherinhirgrouptouseaparticularability.
Theplayerusedcertainconventions,suchasadding"lol"attheendofthestatement,toindicatethatthesuggestionsweremeantinafriendlytone.
Insituationswereneitherplayerhasexperience,playerssometimesworkedtogethertofiguresomethingout,suchaswhereanNPCneededforaquestcanbefound.
Eachperson'scontributionsbuiltontheother's.
Finally,conversationsthatbeginassimplefact-findingqueriescanleadintootherformsoflearningconversationssuchasadiscussionaboutmoralvaluesandethosinaparticularsituation(B.
A.
Nardi,Ly,&Harris,2007).
Althoughplayerslearnfromeachotherthroughcollaboration,Ducheneautetal.
foundthattheydonotspendthatmuchtimeingroupsatfirst.
Ducheneautetal.
lookedatdatacollecteddirectlyfromthegameitselfandfoundthatdespitestructuresdesigned17toencourageplayerstogroup,suchasgivingclassescomplementaryabilitiesandcreatingquestsandinstancesthataretoodifficultforoneplayertocompleteonhirown,playersspentalargeamountoftimesoloinguntiltheyreachtheupperlevels.
Theyfoundastrongincreaseingroupingafterlevel55.
(Atthetimeofthestudy,60wasthehighestlevelacharactercouldreach,althoughthishassinceincreasedto80).
Ducheneautetal.
write,"OneplayersummarizedthissituationnicelybysayingthatWoW'ssubscriberstendtobe'alonetogether:'theyplaysurroundedbyothersinsteadofplayingwiththem.
"Whetherornotplayersweremembersofaguildalsoaffectedhowoftentheyworkedwithotherplayers.
Theyfoundthatbetweenthelevelsof41and60,charactersinaguildwerepartofagroup43percentmoreoftenthancharacterswhowerenotinone(Ducheneaut,Yee,Nickell,&Moore,2006).
18MethodologyForthisstudy,semi-structuredqualitativeinterviewswereusedtoinvestigatehowplayerssoughtinformationinWorldofWarcraft.
Subjectswererecruitedthroughane-mailsenttoallstudents,staff,andfacultyattheUniversityofNorthCarolinaatChapelHillwhohadoptedtoreceivemasse-mails.
Toparticipate,subjectshadtohaveleveledatleastonecharactertolevelten.
Theminimumexperiencelevelwasintentionallysetlowsothatnewplayerscouldparticipate.
Reachingleveltenrequiresaplayertohavecompletedseveralquests,killedmobs,learnednewabilities,and,often,tohavetraveledtoatleastonenewtown,soevenplayersatthatlevelwouldhavehadmanyopportunitiestoseekinformation.
Playersinterestedinparticipatingwereaskedtovisitawebpagethatgavemoreinformationaboutthestudy(seeAppendixA)andthentoprovideanameande-mailaddresssothattheycouldbecontactedtoscheduleaninterview.
Responsetotheinitiale-mailwasstrong.
Withinaboutfourteenhours,thirty-sevenplayershadvolunteered.
Atthispoint,becausetheoriginaltargetsamplesizewasnomorethantwenty,nofurthervolunteerswereaccepted.
Aswasexpected,notallpotentialparticipantswhoinitiallyvolunteeredchosetocontinuewiththestudy.
Fromthethirty-seveninitialvolunteers,eighteeninterviewswerescheduledandsixteeninterviewsconducted.
Interviewstookplacein-personinprivatestudyroomsintheuniversitycampuslibrariesandlastedaroundfifteenminutes.
Interviewswererecordedonaudiocassette.
Toprojectsubjects'privacy,recordingswerekeptonlylongenoughforade-identifiedtranscripttobemade.
19Ininterviews,subjectswerefirstaskedafewquestionsabouttheamountoftimetheyspentplaying,howlongtheyhadplayed,andwhatkindofservertheywereon.
ParticipantswerenextaskedtorecallthelasttimetheycouldthinkofinwhichtheywereinWorldofWarcraftandlookedforinformation.
Onceparticipantshaddescribedtheirinformationneedandhowtheywentaboutfindinginformation,theywereaskedquestionsabouthowoftentheylookedforinformation,whatkindsofinformationtheylookedforinandoutofworldandwhatsourcestheyused,andhowtheydeterminedwheretheywouldseekinformationforaninformationneed.
Finally,ifparticipantshadnotalreadymentionedit,theywereaskedwhethertheyevergatheredinformationfromobservingotherplayers.
ThesixteenparticipantshadbeenplayingWorldofWarcraftforameanof2.
64yearsandamedianof2.
75years.
Theleastamountoftimeaparticipanthadplayedwassixmonthsandthegreatestwasfiveyears,althoughthatparticipant,aswithtwoofthethreeparticipantswhohadbeenplayingforfouryears,indicatedthatsiehadstoppedplayingforbriefperiodsduringthattime.
Twelveparticipants(75percent)playedonPvEservers,fiveparticipants(41.
67percent)playedonPvPservers,andfiveparticipants(41.
67percent)playedonRPservers.
(Sixparticipantshadcharactersonmorethanonetypeofserver).
Timespentin-worldcurrentlyrangedfrom3to35hoursaweek,withameanof12.
09hoursandmedianof9hours.
1However,sixparticipantsindicatedthattheyplayedmorehoursperweekatothertimes,eitherduringsummerandwinterbreaksorinthepast.
1Whenparticipantsindicatedtheirhoursperweekasarange,themeanwasused.
20ResultsParticipantsreportedseekinginformationofteninWorldofWarcraft.
TenoftherespondentsindicatedthatinformationseekingwasaconstantpartofWorldofWarcraft,reportingthattheylookforinformation"EverytimeI'mon,""Allthetime,""Almostconstantly,"oreven,"IlookforinformationonthegamemoreoftenthanIplayit.
"Threeotherrespondentsgaveestimatesthatindicatedthattheysoughtinformationonaregularbasis:"onceortwiceeveryhalfhourthatIplay,""10-15timesaweek"[fromaparticipantwhoestimatedsiespentfivehoursaweekin-world],"acoupletimesanhour[.
.
.
]ifIhadtosayanumber,I'dprobablysaythreetimesanhourorso.
"Takentogether,81.
25percentoftherespondentsreportedlookingforinformationfrequently.
Oftheremainingthreeparticipantswhoreportedlessfrequentinformationseeking,onesuggestedthatsiestillsoughtinformationfairlyoften,"maybelikeatmostonceaplaysession.
LikeIusuallytryanddoitmyselfandtrytofigureitoutandit'sonlywhenIgetfrustratedthatI'lllookforstuff.
"Anotherparticipantreportedlookingforinformationonaregularbasis,thoughlessoftenthanotherparticipants,"probablylike2to3timesaweekrightnow.
"Onlyoneparticipantindicatedthatlookingforinformationwasanuncommonoccurrence.
"IrarelylookforthingsunlessI'mlooking[.
.
.
]likewhenI'msittinginmy,youknow,Googlephoneorsomething,justkillingtime,lookingforstuffforfunbutnotwhileI'mactivelylookingforsomething.
"Thisparticipant,whohadbeenplayingWorldofWarcraftfor3.
5years,indicatedthatsielookedforinformationmoreoftenwhensiefirststarted.
However,participantswiththe21sameorgreateryearsexperiencewereamongthosereportingconstantinformationseeking.
Participantsreportedavarietyofinformationneeds.
Responsesweresortedintofourteencategories:Locations:wherethingswerelocated,whichincludedNPCs,questobjectives,vendorsincities,andcertainitems.
Boss/DungeonStrategies:recommendedtacticsandstrategiestosuccessfullyclearadungeonordefeataraidbossGeneralStrategies:waystoplayeffectively,includingwhatabilitiesareavailabletodifferentclassesandwheretoputtalentpointsUpcomingChanges:patchnotes,rumors,andotherinformationaboutupcomingchangesinWorldofWarcraftGear:whichitemisbettertowearandhowotherplayershavechosentogeartheircharactersProfessionInfo:informationaboutprofessions,suchaswhatrecipesareavailableandwhatitemsareneededforthemEvents:thingsthatarehappeninginWorldofWarcraft,includingbothworldwideeventsandeventsfortheparticipant'scommunity,suchasaraidplannedbyaguildAchievements:informationabouttheachievementsthatcanbeearnedinWorldofWarcraftLore/Story:informationabouttheworldandstorylineswithinWorldofWarcraftLoot:whatitemsdropfromwhichmobsandtheirdroprates(percentageoftimes22anitemisamongthelootwhenthemobiskilled)LookingforGroup:informationaboutotherplayersinterestedinformingagroupBuying/SellingItems:informationaboutwhatitemsareavailableforsaleandforhowmuchanitemcanbesoldDamage:howmuchdamageaplayerdid(usuallytoaraidboss)inafightOtherPlayers'Personalities:informationaboutwhatotherplayersarelikeQuickReference(nototherwisespecified)Byfarthemostcommontypeofinformationneedwaslocations.
Onlyoneparticipantdidnotincludeitamongthetypesofinformationsought.
Thenextmostcommoninformationneedwasgeneralstrategies,reportedby56.
25percentofparticipants.
Gearandprofessioninformationwereeachreportedby31.
25percentofparticipants,andboss/dungeonstrategiesandbuying/sellingitemswereeachreportedby25percentoftheparticipants.
Threeparticipantseach(18.
75percent)mentionedupcomingchanges,events,loot,andlookingforgroups.
Onlyoneparticipanteachreportedinformationneedsinlore/story,achievements,damage,andquickreference(nototherwisespecified).
Whenfacedwithaninformationneed,participantshavetheoptionoflookingfortheinformationusingaresourcein-worldorleavingWorldofWarcrafttolookfortheinformationelsewhere.
Mostparticipantsdoboth.
Fifteenoutofsixteenparticipants(93.
75percent)namedatleastonein-gameresourcetheyused,andfifteenoutofsixteenparticipantsnamedatleastoneout-of-gameresourcetheyusedaswell.
TheoneparticipantwhocouldnotthinkofanytimessielookedforinformationwithoutleavingWorldofWarcraftexplainedthatsiealwayslookedforinformationbyenteringsearch23termsintoGoogle.
"Becauseit'sjustthewayIgatherinformationingeneral.
It'sjustthefirstthingIdowhen[.
.
.
]gototheinternet.
GotoGoogle.
Typeinsomething.
StartclickinguntilIfindwhatIneed.
"TheoneparticipantwhoreportednoteverleavingWorldofWarcrafttolookforinformationelsewhereexplained,"IusedtobeforeIgotmodsinstalled.
Nowyoucangetmostofitrightthereinthegame.
"Whenaskedhowtheywentaboutlookingforinformationtomeetthelastinformationneedtheycouldthinkof,50percentofparticipantsusedatleastonein-worldsource.
Inallofthesecases,anin-worldsourcewasthefirstinformationsource.
For50percentoftheinformationseekingthatbeganwithanin-worldsource,theparticipantusedin-worldsourcesexclusively.
(Twoparticipantsneededonlyonesourcetosatisfytheirinformationneed).
Fourparticipantscouldnotthinkofaspecificinformationneedbutdescribedtheirusualinformation-seekingprocessforatypeofinformationtheywerelikelytolookfor(i.
e.
"FirstIwouldgotoX,andifIcouldn'tfindtheinformationthere,IwouldgotoY").
Iftheirresponsesarenotincluded,41.
67percentofparticipantsusedatleastonein-worldsource,andin60percentofthosecases,usedin-worldsourcesexclusively.
Forparticipantswhocouldrecallhowtheywentaboutsearchingforspecificinformation,informationsearchesinvolvedameanof2.
08sources,amedianof2sources,andamodeof1source.
Therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenstartingin-worldandstartingout-of-world,althoughthemeannumberofsourcesforin-world(2)wasslightlysmallerthanthemeannumberofsourcesforout-of-world(2.
14),andthemodeforin-world(1)wassmallerthanthemodeforout-of-world(2).
Lookingatthepathwaysdescribedbyallparticipants,50percentoftheparticipantswhospentfewer24thanthemedianhoursin-worldand50percentoftheparticipantswhospentgreaterthanthemedianhoursin-worldusedanin-worldsource.
However,only37.
5percentofparticipantswithfewerthanthemedianyearsexperienceusedanin-worldsourcewhile62.
5percentofparticipantswithgreaterthanthemedianyearsexperiencedid.
Evenso,thisisbasedonlyonthemostrecentinformationneedparticipantscouldrecall,andinformationsourcesusedvarydependingonthetypeofinformationneed.
Forthetwomostcommontypesofinformationneeds,bothin-worldandout-of-worldsourceswereused.
Eightparticipants,or53.
33percentofthosewholookedforlocations,didsousingin-worldsources.
Thesamenumberofparticipantslookedforlocationsusingout-of-worldsources.
Fourparticipantsusedbothtypesofsources.
Forgeneralstrategies,moreparticipantsusedin-worldinformationthanlefttheworld.
Two-thirdsoftheparticipantswholistedageneralinformationneedlookedforinformationusinganin-worldsource,whileonly55.
56percentofparticipantsleftWorldofWarcrafttolookfortheinformation.
Onlytwoparticipants(22.
22percentofthosewholookedforinformationaboutgeneralstrategies)reportedusingbothin-worldandoutsidesources.
Theonlycategoryinwhichparticipantsusednoin-worldsourceswasupcomingchanges.
Forallothercategories,atleastoneparticipantlookedfortheinformationwithoutleavingWorldofWarcraft.
Forthecategoriesofdamage,buying/sellingitems,lookingforgroup,otherplayers'personalities,andquickreference(nototherwisespecified),participantsonlyusedin-worldsources.
Gear,lore/story,professioninformation,andachievementsweresplitevenlybetweenin-worldandout-of-worldsources.
Forboss/dungeonstrategiesandloot,moreparticipantsleftWorldofWarcraftthanusedasourcein-world,whilemoreparticipantsstayedin-worldthanleftwhenlookingfor25informationaboutevents.
Theinformationsourcesparticipantsnamedweregroupedintocategories.
In-worldsourceswerethegameinterface(questlog,map,inspectgearandlookingforgrouppanels,auctionhouse,NPCs),add-ons,guildandraidchat(text-basedchatorvoicechatusingVentrillo,Teamspeak,orthebuilt-invoicechat),generalchatchannels,otherplayers,andobservationofotherplayers.
Gameinterfaceandadd-onsaretwoin-worldsourcesthatdonotinvolvegettinginformationdirectlyfromotherplayers.
Ofallin-worldsources,observationwasthemostcommonlylisted.
Eightypercentofparticipantswholookedforinformationin-worldgatheredinformationbyobservingotherplayers.
However,innearlyallcases,participantsdidnotmentionobservationasasourceuntiltheywerespecificallyaskedaboutit.
Afterobservation,themostcommonlynamedin-worldsourceofinformationwasguildchat.
Two-thirdsoftheparticipantswhousedatleastonein-worldresourcelookedforinformationthroughconversationswithotherguildmembers.
Oneparticipantleveledacharactertoeightysothatshecouldjoinaprogressionguildspecificallyfortheinformationshecouldget.
Itriedjustkeepingallofmytoonsinmyownguildwithafewfriends,justtoavoidallthechit-chat,butIfoundthatIwouldn'tbeprivytodiscussionsandjust—Iwasleftoutofinformationbynotbeinginaprogressionguild.
SoIwentaheadandleveledmymageto80,joinedaprogressionguild,andthenusedtheinformationtolevelupmyothertoons[.
.
.
]Sixtypercentofparticipantsincludedaspectsofthegameinterfaceasaplacetheylookedforinformation.
Becausethegameinterfaceissoubiquitous,itispossiblethatthenumberofuserswhousethequestlog,minimap,orotherpartsoftheinterfaceforinformationisgreaterthanthosewhoreportedit.
Oneparticipantsuggestedthata26player'sclassmayalsoaffecthiruseofsomeofthegameinterface.
Really,Iguess,maybethismightbedifferentformebecauseoftheclassIplay,becausewiththedifferentmobtrackingoptionsyouhaveasahunter,Ireallylooktotheminimapalot,Iguess.
Becauseit's—youknow,there'salotofinformation—I'veplayedacoupledifferentclassesbutit'ssortoftheoneIplaymostoften—itseemslikethere'salotofinformationthatyoucangetonwhat's,like,inthenearbyarea,youknow,so,justfromthat,thatisn'tavailabletootherclasses.
Afterthegameinterface,thenextmostcommonlynamedin-worldsourcesweretalkingtootherplayersandthegeneralchatchannels.
Althoughinmostcasesparticipantslookedforinformationfromthesesourcesbyaskingaquestiontoaparticularplayerorchatchannel,inoneinstance,aparticipantdescribedcollaboratingwithotherplayers(whomsiealsogotinformationfrominreallife)tofindtheneededinformationtogether.
Anotherparticipantlookedforinformationononeofthegeneralchatchannels,butonlybylurking("usuallyjustwatching"),notbyaskingaquestionhirselfbecause"it'shardtogetresultsbyaskingquestionsinthatkindofforum.
"Thefinal,andleastcommonlymentioned,in-worldinformationsourcewasadd-ons,listedby40percentofparticipantswholookedforinformationin-world.
Participantswhousedadd-onsfrequentlyusedmultipleadd-onsfordifferentformsofinformation.
WhenparticipantsleftWorldofWarcrafttoseekinformationelsewhere,theinformationsourcestheyusedwerecategorizedintogeneralreference(siteswithinformationaboutitems,NPCs,andquests),wikis,forums,blogs,onlinevideos,theArmory(asitemaintainedbyBlizzardlistingthegear,achievements,andotherinformationaboutplayers),searchengine,levelingguides(instructionsonhowtolevelacharacterfrom1-80,usuallybysuggestingwhichqueststodoandinwhatorder,sometimesaswellasofferinggeneralstrategiessuggestions),websitesforaplayer's27guild,andaskingsomeoneinreallife.
Themostcommonlyusedoutsidesourcewasgeneralreference.
EveryparticipantwholeftWorldofWarcrafttolookforinformationinatleastonesourcelookedforinformationatageneralreferencesource,usuallyThottbot,Wowhead,orAllahkazam.
Fortypercentofparticipantswhousedoutsidesourcesusedwikis.
Allparticipantswhousedawikinamedthesameone,Wowwiki.
Iguess,probably,Wowwikiisthesecondchoice[afterageneralreferencesite]becausethemosthelpfulthingiswhatotherusershavetoldyou,sortof.
Becauseeachresourcehassomethingthatthesystemkindofdoesforyouandthenthere'sapartlikepeoplecantypeincommentsandofferadviceandIguessthat'sreallywhat'smosthelpful.
Soit'sreallythewikibecauseit'slikeotherpeopletellingyoustuff.
Fortypercentofparticipantsalsolistedaskingsomeoneinreallifeasaninformationsource.
Afterwikisandaskingsomeoneinreallife,thenextmostcommonlyusedinformationsourceswerelevelingguides,theArmory,andsearchengines,eachnamedby20percentoftheparticipants.
Finally,oneparticipanteachnamedforums,blogs,andtheplayer'sguild'swebsiteasasource,althoughanotherparticipantindicatedthatsiehadusedforumsinthepast.
Therewaslittlerelationshipbetweenthesourcesusedandtheyearsofexperienceaparticipanthad.
However,onlyparticipantswithfeweryearsofexperiencethanthemedianusedlevelingguides.
Moreparticipantswithyearsofexperienceabovethemediannamedthegameinterfaceasaninformationsourcethandidthosebelowthemedian,andofthesixparticipantswhousedadd-ons,fourofthemhadabovethemedianyearsexperience.
Therewasalsolittlerelationshipbetweenthesourcesusedandthenumberofhoursparticipantscurrentlyspentin-world,althoughmoreparticipantswhospentbelow28themediannumberofhoursin-worldusedcertainoutsidesourcesthandidthosewhospentabovethemedianhoursin-world.
Fourparticipantswhospentfewerthanthemediannumberofhoursin-worldusedwikis,whileonlytwoparticipantswhospentgreaterthanthemedianlistedthem.
Likewise,fourparticipantswhospentfewerthanthemediannumberhoursintheworldaskedsomeoneinreallife,whileonlytwoparticipantswhospentgreaterthanthemediandid.
Onlyparticipantswhospentbelowthemediannumberofhoursinworldusedasearchengine,whileonlyparticipantswhospentabovethemedianhoursinworldusedalevelingguide.
Whenaskedwhytheyusedthesourcestheynamed,thethreemostcommonlygivenreasonswereamountofinformation(mentionedby37.
5percentofrespondents),easeofuse,andusefulnessinthepast(bothmentionedby31.
25percentofrespondents).
Otherreasons,eachgivenbytwousers,wereavailabilityofimages,availabilityofwrittendirections,thatthosesourceswerepartofuser'sgeneralmethodofgatheringinformation,additionalfeaturesprovidedbythesource(e.
g.
theabilitytofiltersearchresultsbycertaincriteria),andpresenceofcommentsfromotherusers.
Finally,oneusereachlistedknowledgeofhowtheinformationwasgatheredandpresenceoflore/storyasreasons.
Forthelastreason,theparticipantexplainedthatsielookedforinformationfirstinthequestinstructionsinhirquestlog"becausethat'swherethestoryis.
"Userswhonamedbothin-worldandoutsidesourcesintheirinformationseekingwereaskedhowtheychosewhethertoremainin-worldorlookelsewhere.
Themostcommoncategoryofreasonsforleavingworldweresocialfactors,mentionedby31.
25percentofparticipants.
Theseincludednotwantingtobotherotherplayers,feelingshy,ornotfeelingsociable.
Oneparticipantexplainedthatthebestwaytogetsomekindsof29informationwastoasksomeoneingame"exceptwhenitcomestoquests.
Becauseyoudon'twanttobugother[players].
"AnotherparticipantexplainedSo,ifI'mplayingwithmyroommateormaybewithanotherfriendthatplays,I'llaskthem.
ButifI'mjustwanderingaroundandIseerandom,likeJoeTaurenHunteroverthere,Iwon'tgo,"Hey,JoeTaurenHunter!
[.
.
.
]HowdoIgettothisplace"Becausehewouldprobably,youknow,Iwouldjustautomaticallyassumethatpeoplewouldn'twanttotellmeanditwouldbeobnoxious.
Theperceivedsociabilityofotherplayers,anothersocialfactor,wasalsousedbyoneparticipanttodecidewhethertoaskotherplayersorlookonlineifhirguild,theparticipant'sfirstinformationsource,didnotknowtheanswer.
Iftheydidn'tknow,atthatpoint,ImightaskinGeneralchatchannel,andImighttryGeneralchatchannelfirstifI'veseentheregion'sparticularlytalkativeandpeoplearehelpful.
Ifjustdepends.
Imean,youwouldn'tdoitintheBarrens2becauseitjustwouldn'twork.
[.
.
.
]IfI'mjustkindofoutinthemiddleofnowhereandjustkindofwantingtobealittlebitmoresolitary,I'dgoonline.
Thenextmostcommonreasons,mentionedby18.
75percentofparticipants,werethatthein-worldsourcewasnotavailableorthatlookingupinformationelsewherewasfaster.
Whetherthein-worldsourcewasavailablegenerallymeantwhetherotherplayerswereonlinewhentheparticipanthadaninformationneed.
Oneparticipantexplainedthatwhethersieaskedhirguildfirstorwentstraighttoanoutsidegeneralreferencesite"dependsonwho'sonandwhetherornotIthinkI'mgoingtogetanexpedientanswerfromthem.
"Anotherparticipantexplained,"Mostofthetime,Iaskinguildfirst.
Ifsomeone'son.
Ifnoone'son,thenofcourseI'llhavetolookitup.
"Otheruserschosenottousein-worldinformationsourcesbecausetheyconsidereditfastertoleavetheworldandfindtheinformationelsewherebecauseanintermediaryhadalreadygathereditandorganizedit.
OneparticipantexplainedIwanttodothingsquicklyandIdon'thaveenoughtimetofeellikeIwantto2AregioninWorldofWarcraft,notoriousin-gameforchatfeaturingsillyorhostileinteraction30explorethewaythattheymightexpectyoutointuitivelyexploretheworld,butIkindoflikethatsomebodyelsehasalreadyfoundtheanswerandIcangolookitupandsay,"Oh,Ineedtogovisitthisvendorandpickupthisalchemyrecipe"orsomethinglikethat.
Likewise,anotherparticipantsaid,"Iusedtoaskguildmembersorwhateverallthetime,butnowIjustswitchtomybrowserandIcangetalltheinformationIneedbecausesomeone'salreadyorganizedit.
"Twoparticipantseach(12.
75percent)leftWorldofWarcrafttolookforinformationwhentheyneededmoreinformationthanwasavailablein-world(i.
e.
theparticipant'sguildisnotabletosufficientlyanswerhirquestion).
Oneparticipantmentionedleavingtheworldbecausesiewantedtobeabletorefertotheinformationlater.
Describingwhysiewentoutoftheworldtogetdirections,theparticipantexplained,"Youcanscrolluponyourchatlogandseewhattheysaidbut,youknow,iftheyrunawayandIcan'trememberhowtospelltheirname,Ican'tgetclarificationandIcan'ttakemytimewithit.
"Because,asdescribedabove,severalparticipantsusedin-worldsourcesunlesstheyhadareasonnotto(socialfactors,in-worldsourcenotavailable,orneedingadditionalinformation),participantsgavefewerreasonsastowhytheywoulduseanin-worldsource.
Threeparticipantslistedsocialfactors,suchasfriendshipwithotherplayersorfeelingsociable,asareasontoremainin-world.
Oneparticipantexplainedwhyhirguildwasoneofhirfirstinformationsources.
Generally,becausewe'reallfriends,weallmetthroughthegameorwe'veknowneachotherforyears.
We'vegotafewpeopleinourguildthatwe'veknownformany,manyyears.
Wejustgetalong,helpeachotherout.
Anotherparticipantaddedthat"sometimesit'sjustmakingconversation.
"Twoparticipantsindicatedthattheyusedin-worldsourcesbecausetheydidnot31liketobreakoutoftheworldwhileplaying.
Foroneparticipant,thiswasbecausesiesawnoreasontoleave(thiswastheparticipantwhocurrentlyusednooutsideinformationsources),whileanotherexplained,"Somehowgoingoutofitjustkindoftakesthemysteryaway.
"Oneparticipantreportedfindinginformationfasterin-world,askinghirguildifsie"justwant[ed]aquickresponse.
"Finally,oneparticipantlefttheworldtolookuplocationsorotherfactualquestionsbutreliedonin-worldsources,namelyhirguildmates,forquestionsthatreliedonhumanjudgmentorplayerswithpastexperience.
Morecomplicatedthings,typically.
Becauseifit'sjustasimple,straightforwardfactualquestion,thenit'susuallysimplertojustgolookitup,butifIwanttoaskthemsomethingaboutthegame,usuallyit'saboutsomesortof—somethingwherethere'ssomesortofjudgmentcallinvolved,like,youknow,whichstatshouldIputonthis,whichgearisbetterthanothers,althoughthereoutsidethegameresourcesforthattoothatIuse[.
.
.
]Butthingswherethere'sjustsortofajudgmentcallorifyouwanttoaskabouthowacertainencounterisgoingtogoorwhetherit'seasyorhardorwhetheracharacter'sreadyforit,whether,youknow.
.
.
someonewho'ssortofbeentherebefore.
[.
.
.
]Becauseit'sonethingto,say,readaboutanencounter,butit'sanotherthingtodoit.
Although,aspreviouslymentioned,observingotherplayerswasthemost-oftenmentionedin-worldinformationsource,mostparticipantsdidnotnameituntilspecificallyasked.
Inmanycases,participantsdidnotactivelyseekinformationbywatchingotherplayers.
Asoneparticipantnoted,althoughsiecouldthinkofinstanceswhensiehadgottenneededinformationbywatchingotherplayers,"It'snotsomethingItendtothinkofasastrategy.
"Thereweresomeexceptionstothis.
Oneparticipantexplainedthatsieusedobservation,incombinationwiththecombatlog(apartofthegameinterfacethatrecordsallactionsthattakeplaceduringcombat)tolearnhowtoperformaparticularroleinaraid.
32Forexample,Iusedtoplayawarrior.
So,themaindutyofawarrioristotank,andIwasterribleatit.
SoIjustwatchedwhatourguild'smaintankwoulddoforawhile,andI'daskhimaboutit.
Andso,he'dsay,"Justwatch.
"SoI'dwatch,youknow,whatskillshewasusing—I'dlookintheCombatLogafterwardsandit'llshowmelikewhathedidtokeepaggro—todohisjobwell.
However,theparticipantalsonotedthat"it'snotasuseful,I'dsay,asjustaskingpeople.
"Theparticipantdidfindthatgatheringinformationfromobservationincombinationwithaskingpeopletobeausefulwayoflearning.
InPvP,Iwasterrible.
SoIgotmy—soIwentoutwithmyguild[intothebattlegrounds]orwhatever,andIjustsawwhattheydid.
AndI'daskthem,youknow,"Whyareyoudoingthat"Andthey'dgo,youknow,"Forsuchandsuchreason.
"Andthat'sthemosteffectiveway,orit'stheonlyway,somethinglikethat.
Sothat'sthebestwayIknewof.
Anotherparticipantmentionedthatplayersweresometimestoldtoobserveacertainplayerduringtheraidtogetinformationabouttheraidstrategy.
Sometimesit'ssimplesttojustfollowsomeoneelseifyoudon'tknow,ifyou'renewtoitoryoudon'tknowexactlywhatyou'regoingtobedoing.
Because—andsometimesthey'llmarkacharacterwithoneofthelittleraidmarkingsorthey'llputlikeasquareorsomethingovertheguy'shead,like"Followthispersonandyouwillnotgetitbyalavawaveanddie"orwhatever.
Twoparticipantsmentionedrelyingonobservationtolookforinformationaboutwhatwashappeningduringcombat.
Iwasthinkingthatthismorning,Ididadungeonwithtwofriends,andafriendofminewasn'tkeepingtrackofsomethinghewassupposedtobekeepingtrackof;hewasn'tgoingafteraparticulardragonhewassupposedtobetakingcareof,andsoIwouldhavetogoandtakecareofitforhimanddoit.
Anothermentionedobservingotherplayersinabattlegroundtogetinformationaboutwhattheyweredoingandwhysomethinghappenedtoyou.
"Andthenyouseethepersonyou'retargetingstartcastingsomethingback,andallofthesuddenyoucan'tdoanythingbecauseyou'vebeenfearedorsilencedorsomethinglikethat.
"Thefinalformofdeliberateinformationseekingthroughobservationparticipants33mentionedwastryingtolookforinformationaboutotherplayers.
Theparticipantwhomentionedlookingforthiskindofinformationexplainedthatsietriestofindoutwhetheraplayerissomeoneto"stayawayfrom"orsomeonesiewouldwantto"workwithagain,"evenwithoutspeakingtohir.
Furthermore,"sometimesyouhavetolookat,okay,isitachildthatjustcameinandgankedyourore,orisitsomebodybeingrudeBecausealotoftimes,thelittleones,theydon'tunderstand.
"Moreoften,participantsrecalledtimeswhen,throughobservation,theygainedinformationtheydidn'tknowtheyneeded.
Thefourcategoriesofinformationparticipantsmentionedwerenavigation(whichdirectiontogo,howtogettoacertainspot),objects(whatitemswereavailable,whatcertainthingswereusedfor),completingtasks(howtoaccomplishquestobjectives,howtomaneuvercharactersacertainway),andgeneralstrategies.
Thistypeofinformationwasmentionedby31.
25percentofparticipants.
Ofthoseparticipants,80percentspenttenormorehoursin-world,abovethemediannumberofhours.
Oneparticipantexplainedthatsielearnednewabilitiesbyobservingotherplayers.
"AndifIknowsomebody'sthesamecharact—class,andthey'redoingsomethingIdidn'tknowIcoulddoordidn'tknowhowtodo,I'vecopiedthem.
Foundoutmylittledwarfwouldgopshoow.
[Gesturestoindicatethathirdwarfcanmovefromoneplacetoanotherveryquickly].
"Anotherparticipantobserved,"Igetinformationabouthowotherpeopleplaythegame.
Like,otherclasses,howtheyworkandstuff.
"Participantsalsousedobservationasastartingpointand,oncetheyrealizedtheyhadaninformationneed,usedotherinformationsourcesaswell.
ThemainexampleIcanthinkofiswhenIfirststartedlevelingupmyDPSwarrior,figuringoutthatIneedtostandinbackofthingsallthetimetoattack.
34AndwhatInoticedwasthattheDPSthatIwasplayingwithwouldalwayscyclearoundtothebackofthemobandstartattackingandittookmeawhiletobelike,"Okay,they'redoingthatforareason,andIneedtofindoutwhy.
"SoIstartedgoingbackbeforeIstartedreadinguponwhytheyweredoingthat.
AndonceIfigureditout,that'swhatIdoandthat'swhatItellotherpeopletodo.
Aftergeneralstrategies,thenextmostcommontypeofinformationacquiredthroughobservationisnavigation,mentionedby25percentofparticipants.
Ofthoseparticipants,75percent(threeofthefourparticipants)hadbeenplayingWorldofWarcraftonlyfor1.
5yearsorfewer.
Oneparticipantexplained,"Yeah,Imean,I'vebeenlostandseensomebodygorunningbyandgo,'Ohwait.
That'swhereIneedtogo.
Imeanttodothattoo.
'"Oneparticipantfoundthattheoutsidesourcesiehadusedtolookupthelocationwasnotsufficientandbenefitedfromobservingotherplayers.
Oh,therewasaquestIwasdoinginFerelasthatinvolvedfourdifferentareasandevenafterIhadlookedontheinternet,theinternethadnothelpedmeatallbecausetherearethesefourthingsIwassupposedtogatherstufffrom.
Somekindofwellessenceorsomething.
AndeventhoughIcouldseethemonthemaponThottbot,thatreallydidn'thelpmeintermsofin-worldgeography,ofhowtonavigatethisonearea.
Andsotherewasthisothertwo-playergroupthatcamethroughandIwatchedthemgoupontoanareathatIhadn'teventhoughtIcouldjumpontogetthethingandI'mlike"Ah!
That'showyoudoit.
"Completingtasksandobjectswereeachmentionedbythreeparticipants.
Twoparticipantsnamedboth.
Forbothcategories,twoofthethreeparticipantshadbeenplayingWorldofWarcraftforabovethemediannumberofyears,buttwoofthethreealsospentslightlybelowthemediannumberofhoursin-world.
Oneparticipantdescribedusingobservationtolearnhowtokillaparticularcharacter(completingatask)andwhattodowithaportal(object).
Ifyou'rekillingaspecificelitecharacterorsomething,[then]youcanwatchthepersoninfrontofyoudoitbecauseyougotthereaftertheydid,thensometimesthatcanbereallyinstructive.
I[didn't]think—alotofthesortoftransportation-relatedthingsI,youknow,noticethatsomebodyclicksonaportalorsomething,like"Oh,thatportalclearlygoessomewhere.
Ididn'tnoticeitwastherebefore.
"35Fourparticipants(25percent)reportedthattheynevergotinformationbyobservingothercharacters.
Oneofthemwastheparticipantwhousednoin-worldsourcesofinformationatall,preferringtoseekforinformationtosatisfyinformationneedsdiscoveredinWorldofWarcraftthesamewaysiesoughtforothertypesofinformation.
Theotherthreesimplycouldnotthinkofanytimeswhentheygainedinformationbywatchingotherplayers,althoughtheydid,tovaryingdegrees,getinformationfromotherplayersthroughguildchatortalkingtootherplayers.
Oneparticipantfeltitwashardtoobserveanotherplayerandexplained,"Ican'tthinkofaninstance.
UnlessIwentalonginaraidandwatchedhowanothermagefoughtor—butI'dbemorelikelytosay,'Whatspellrotationareyouusing'"Anotherparticipant,wholookedforinformationaboutotherplayers'personalitiesthroughobservation,explainedwhysiedidnotuseobservationforothertypesofinformationseeking,suchasgeneralstrategies.
Notreally,becauseIdon'tdoPuG3groups,so.
.
.
Idon'tlikePuGgroups.
Sogenerallyifwe'rerunninganinstanceoranythinglikethat,it'sallguildiesandprimarilyI'mthehighest-rankingpriestinourguild,soeverybodylookstometoseewhattodoasapriest,soIdon'treallyhaveanyoneelsetolookatinourguild.
Atleastnotasmypriest.
Theparticipant'scommentsalsosuggestthatotherplayersinhirguildmaylookforinformationaboutgeneralstrategiesbyobservinghir.
Participantsreportedafewotherinstancesofincidentalinformationacquisition.
Oneparticipantdescribedbeinginagroupwithotherplayerswhenoneoftheotherplayerslethirknowthatsiewasdrawingaggro.
Siethenusedothersourcestolearnhowtopreventdoingthatinthefuture.
Anotherparticipantgotinformationaboutgearand3PuGstandsfor"Pick-upGroup,"agroupmadeupofplayerswhoarenotinthesameguildandmostlikelydonotknoweachother36generalstrategiesfromhirguildnotonlybyaskingthemquestionsbutalsowhenguildmembersvolunteeredinformation.
"Somebodyintheguildwillsay,'Iwasjustlookingatyourhat.
Youneedadifferenthat.
Letmemakeyouone.
GetthematerialsorI'llmakeitforyou.
'"However,mostincidentalinformationacquisitionoccurredthoughobservation,andparticipantsdidnotreallythinkofitasaninformationsourceuntiltheywereaskedaboutit.
37DiscussionTherewerethreemainresearchquestionsthatthisstudyattemptedtoexplore.
First,towhatextentdoplayersinWorldofWarcraftuseresourcesinthatworldforinformation-seekingDoplayersuseeachotherasinformationseekingresourcesin-world,ordotheystillprefertocheckanoutsideresourceTheanswerseemstobeboth.
Mostplayerslookforinformationfrequently,andwhentheydoso,theylookbothinandoutsideoftheworld,dependingonthesituation.
Playersuseeachotherasaninformationseekingresourcein-world,aswellasotherin-worldresourcessuchasthegameinterfaceandadd-ons.
Playersmayalsobeginin-worldandmoveoutsideformoreinformationorfindinformationusinganoutsidesourceandthengatheradditionalinformationbackinsidetheworld.
Thesecondquestionwasforwhatkindsofinformationdousersseekin-worldDoquestionstendtobefairlyshortandspecific,ordotheyattempttofindanswerstomoreopen-endedquestionsTheansweragainseemstobeboth.
Locations,usuallyshortandspecificquestions,werethemostcommontypeofinformationsoughtandwerelookedforequallyinandoutoftheworld.
Someparticipantsconsidereditfastertoleavetheworldtofindaspecificpieceofinformationorbecausetheywantedtobeabletorefertotheanswerlater,whileotherspreferredtouseanin-worldsourcesuchasamodorguildchattogetspecificinformationwithoutleavingtheworld.
Forsomeoftheshortspecificinformationuserslookedfor,suchashowmuchdamagetheyhaddoneinafightorforhowmuchtheycouldsellaparticularitem,participantsnamedonlyin-world38sourcestoanswer.
Usersalsosoughtinformationin-worldaboutmoreopen-endedquestions,suchasgeneralstrategies,althoughslightlymoreparticipantsusedoutsidesourcestodoso.
Insomecases,userssoughtin-worldforopen-endedquestionsbutdidnotusein-worldsourcesexclusivelytoanswerthem.
Forinstance,afterwatchingotherplayersandnoticingtheywereattackingfromtheback,oneparticipantthenlookedatsourcesoutsidetheworldtobetterunderstandwhysieshoulddothat.
Foralltypesofopen-endedquestionsmentionedbyparticipants,atleastoneparticipantlefttheworldtolookforinformationeitherinsteadoforinadditiontolookingforinformationwithintheworld.
Inafewcases,participantsdecidedwhetherornottousein-worldsourcesdependingonthetypeofquestion,suchaslookinguplocationsoutsidetheworldbutremainingin-worldtoaskguildmemberswhenhumanjudgmentwasneededoraskingsomeonein-worldunlesstheinformationneededwasquest-related.
Othertimes,whatsourceparticipantsuseddependedlessonthetypeofinformationandmoreonwheretheywerein-world,whoelsewasonline,howsociabletheywerefeeling,andsoon.
Finally,thisstudylookedatwhatresourcesparticipantsusedin-worldtoanswertheirquestions.
Primarily,participantsusedotherplayerstofindinformation.
Ofthefivemostcommonlynamedin-worldsourcesofinformation,four(observation,guildchat,generalchat,andtalkingtootherplayers)allreliedonotherplayers.
Onlytwoin-worldsourcesnamed,thegameinterfaceandadd-ons,didnotdirectlygatherinformationfromotherplayers.
Playersgatheredinformationbothbyobservingotherplayersandbyaskingquestionsviachat.
However,whenparticipantsrecognizedaninformationneedandpurposelysoughtinformationaboutit(asopposedtoacquiringitincidentally),they39mostoftenusedtext-basedchat.
Moreparticipantsmentionedthrowingouttheirquestiontoagroup,eithertheparticipant'sguildoranyoneinaregionorserver,thantalkingtoaparticularplayer,butplayersgatherinformationbothways.
Otherplayerswerealsofactorsintheoutsideresourceschosen.
Severalparticipantsmentionedusinggeneralreferencesourcesbecause"someoneelse"hadgatheredtheinformationforthem.
ThegeneralreferencesitesnamedwereallresourcescreatedbyotherWorldofWarcraftplayers.
(However,toomuchemphasisshouldnotbeputonthisbecauseonlyoneparticipantmentionedhirknowledgeofwheretheinformationcamefromasareasontouseaparticularsource.
)Usercommentsonreferencesources,wikis,forums,blogs,andaskingpeopleinreallifeareallotherwaysthatparticipantsgatheredinformationoutsidetheworldfromotherplayers.
Hastheabilitytousein-worldsourcesimpactedhowWorldofWarcraftplayersfindinformationWhenchoosingasource,manyofthepreferencecriteriaparticipantsnamedfitwiththosefoundbyotherresearchers.
Participantsvaluedsourcesthatprovidedalotofinformationandwereeasytouse.
Althoughnotnamedexplicitlyasareasonforusingasource,participantsseemedtoprefersourcesthatwereeasytoaccess.
Whenonesourcewasnotavailableimmediately,participantsswitchedtoasourcethatwasavailable.
ParticipantsalsogatheredinformationfromhumansourcesonlineforsomeofthesamereasonsparticipantsusedhumansourcesinSavolainen'sstudy.
Onlyonesourceparticipantsnamed,askingsomeoneinreallife,wasnotanonlinesource,sowhetherornotparticipantslookedforinformationontheinternetwasnotanissue.
However,whenchoosingbetweenin-worldandoutsidesources,otherfactorscameintoplay,suchaswhethertheplayerwasshy,whethertheplayerexpectedother40playerstobehelpfulortoperceivetheplayerwithaquestionasobnoxious,orwhethertheplayerwantedtoengageinsocialactivities,aswellaswhoelsewasonline.
Playerscanlurkonthegeneralchatchannels,althoughonlyoneplayerspecificallymentionedthisasawaysielooksforinformation.
Playerscanalsolurkonguildchat,butbecauseanyguildmembercanseewhatotherguildmembersareonline(onlineguildmembersautomaticallyseetheguildchannel),theplayerisnotentirelyinvisible.
Socialfactors,whichwerereasonsparticipantsgavebothforleavingtheworldandforstayingwithinit,separateinformation-seekinginWorldofWarcraftfrommanyformsofonlineinformationseeking.
NotfeelingsociableprobablydoesnotdiscourageusersfromenteringsearchtermsintoGoogle.
However,therearenumerousonlineinformationsourcesthatarenotimmersivevirtualenvironmentstowhichsocialfactorsstillapply.
Forums,chatrooms,andquestionserviceslikeYahooAnswers,thoughsometimesasynchronous,areallotherwaysuserscanseekinformationfromothersonlinewithoutdependingontheabilitytoviewotherusers'avatarsasinWorldofWarcraftandotherimmersivevirtualenvironments.
Inthisway,informationseekinginWorldofWarcraftisnotdifferentfromthetext-basedUsenetcommunitiesBurnettstudiedearlier.
Asinthosecommunities,playersinWorldofWarcraftcanposeaquerytothegrouportoaparticularindividual,eitherthroughawhisperorbyaskingafellowguildmemberinguildchat,aswellasgaininformationincidentallywhenanothercommunitymemberasksaquestionormakesanannouncement.
Burnett'stypology,however,doesnotincludeanotherformofcollaborativeinformationalbehavior,inwhichonecommunitymemberrecognizesanothermember'sinformationneed,evenifthememberwiththeneeddoesnot,and41proactivelyprovidestheinformation.
BecauseWorldofWarcraftallowsplayerstoseeoneanother'scharactersandprovidestools,in-worldandoutsideofworld,togetmoreinformation,oneplayermaynoticesomethingaboutanotherplayer'sgearortalentsandprovidethemwithinformation.
WhereWorldofWarcraftisalsodifferentfromotherformsofonlineinformationseekingisintheabilityofplayerstoincidentallygatherinformationbyobservingotherplayers.
Althoughparticipantsdidnotthinkofthisasasourceofinformationuntiltheywereaskedaboutitspecifically,75percent(80percentofthosewhousedatleastonein-worldsource)gatheredinformationatleastoccasionallybyobserving.
Inthetext-basedUsenetcommunities,acommunitymembermustaskaqueryoranothermemberdeliberatelychoosetosharespecificinformationforothermemberstobenefitfromit.
Forexample,onaforumdevotedtoWorldofWarcraft(muchliketheUsenetcommunities),formemberstoincidentallyacquireinformationaboutaraidstrategyandansweraninformationneedplayersdidknowtheyhaduntiltheylearnedthestrategy,amembermusteitheraskaquestionabouttheraidstrategy,promptingothermemberstodescribeit,oramembermustchooseforsomereasontoannounceastrategy.
Eitherway,somemembermustdeliberatelychoosetoputtheraidstrategyintowords(orlinktoavideoorsomeothermethodofdeliberatelysharingtheinformation)andprovideitforothermemberswiththeintentofmakingthatinformationavailable.
WithinWorldofWarcraftitself,aparticipantmayacquireinformationthesamewayif,forinstance,araidleaderreviewsthestrategywithplayersbeforetheraidbegins.
However,playersin-worldhaveanadditionaloptionthatisnotavailableoutsidetheworld.
Theycandiscoverthestrategybywatchingotherplayersandrealizingthose42playersaredoingsomethingdifferent,eveniftheplayersbeingwatchedarecompletelyunawarethattheyareprovidinginformation.
Theydonothavetochoosetoshareinformation(althoughtheymaydosobyintentionallydemonstratingsomethingforthebenefitofanotherplayer)inordertobeaninformationsource.
Thisisonewaythatimmersivevirtualenvironmentsupportsplayersfindinginformationeveniftheydonotknowexactlywhattheyarelookingforordonotrealizetheyhaveaninformationneed,asBelkinandPorembaalsoaddressed.
Thisstudywaslimitedinitssmallsamplesize,whichdrewonlyfrompeopleconnectedtoasingleuniversity,onlyafractionofthetotalWorldofWarcraftplayers.
Inaddition,thequestionsofthisstudyfocusedmoreonpurposefulinformationseeking.
Additionalresearchcouldbedonewithlargerandmorediversesamplesaswellastolookspecificallyatincidentalinformationseekingthroughobservationandothermethodstobetterunderstandhowobservationinanimmersivevirtualenvironmentoffersaparticipantsawaytodiscoverinformationonlinethatmaynotbeprovidedinotherformsofonlineinformation.
43ReferencesAntonijevic,S.
(2008).
Fromtexttogestureonline:Amicroethnographicanalysisofnonverbalcommunicationinthesecondlifevirtualenvironment.
Information,Communication&Society,11(2),221-238.
Belkin,NicolasJ.
(2000).
Helpingpeoplefindwhattheydon'tknow.
Commun.
ACM,43(8),58-61.
Blascovich,J.
(2002).
Socialinfluencewithinimmersivevirtualenvironments.
TheSocialLifeofAvatars:PresenceandInteractioninSharedVirtualEnvironments,127–145.
Brown,B.
,&Bell,M.
(2004).
CSCWatplay:'There'asacollaborativevirtualenvironment.
CSCW'04:Proceedingsofthe2004ACMconferenceoncomputersupportedcooperativework(pp.
350-359).
NewYork,NY:ACM.
Burnett,G.
(2000).
Informationexchangeinvirtualcommunities:Atypology.
InformationResearch,5(4),5-4.
Retrievedfromhttp://informationr.
net/ir/5-4/paper82.
htmlBurnett,G.
,&Buerkle,H.
(2004).
Informationexchangeinvirtualcommunities:Acomparativestudy.
JournalofComputer-MediatedCommunication,9(2),451–459.
Byron,S.
M.
,&Young,J.
I.
(2000).
Informationseekinginavirtuallearningenvironment.
ResearchStrategies,17(4),257-267.
Choo,C.
W.
,Detlor,B.
,&Turnbull,D.
(2000).
Informationseekingontheweb:An44integratedmodelofbrowsingandsearching.
FirstMonday,5(2).
Ducheneaut,N.
,Yee,N.
,Nickell,E.
,&Moore,R.
J.
(2006).
"Alonetogether":Exploringthesocialdynamicsofmassivelymultiplayeronlinegames.
ProceedingsoftheSIGCHIConferenceonHumanFactorsinComputingSystems,407-416.
Erdelez,S.
(1997).
Informationencountering:Aconceptualframeworkforaccidentalinformationdiscovery.
InP.
Vakkari,R.
Savolainen&B.
Dervin(Eds.
),Informationseekingincontext.
proceedingsoftheinternationalconferenceonresearchininformationneeds,seekinganduseindifferentcontexts,14-16August1996,Tampere,Finland(pp.
412-421)London:TaylorGraham.
Haycock,K.
,&Kemp,J.
(2008).
Immersivelearningenvironmentsinparalleluniverses:LearningthroughSecondLife.
SchoolLibrariesWorldwide,14(2),89-97.
Heinstrom,J.
(2006).
Psychologicalfactorsbehindincidentalinformationacquisition.
Library&InformationScienceResearch,28(4),579-594.
Julien,H.
,&Michels,D.
(2004).
Intra-individualinformationbehaviourindailylife.
InformationProcessing&Management,40(3),547-562.
Kelly,D.
(2006).
Measuringonlineinformationseekingcontext,part1:Backgroundandmethod.
JournaloftheAmericanSocietyforInformationScienceandTechnology,57(13),1729-1739.
---.
(2006).
Measuringonlineinformationseekingcontext,part2:Findingsanddiscussion.
JournaloftheAmericanSocietyforInformationScienceandTechnology,57(14),1862.
Kock,N.
(2008).
E-collaborationande-commerceinvirtualworlds:Thepotentialof45secondlifeandworldofwarcraft.
InternationalJournalofe-Collaboration,4(3),1-13.
Lee,H.
(2008).
Informationstructuresandundergraduatestudents.
TheJournalofAcademicLibrarianship,34(3),211-219.
Mill,D.
H.
(2008).
Undergraduateinformationresourcechoices.
College&ResearchLibraries,69(4),342-355.
Nardi,B.
,&Harris,J.
(2006).
Strangersandfriends:CollaborativeplayinWorldofWarcraft.
Proceedingsofthe200620thAnniversaryConferenceonComputerSupportedCooperativeWork,149-158.
Nardi,B.
A.
,Ly,S.
,&Harris,J.
(2007).
LearningconversationsinWorldofWarcraft.
Proceedingsofthe40thAnnualHawaiiInternationalConferenceonSystemSciences,40(3),1326.
Poremba,S.
M.
(2008).
Thesearchfordynamicnavigation.
EContent,31(5),30-34.
Saiti,A.
,&Prokopiadou,G.
(2008).
Post-graduatestudentsandlearningenvironments:Users'perceptionsregardingthechoiceofinformationsources.
TheInternationalInformation&LibraryReview,40(2),94-103.
Savolainen,R.
(1995).
Everydaylifeinformationseeking:Approachinginformationseekinginthecontextof"wayoflife".
Library&InformationScienceResearch,17(3),259-294.
---.
(2008).
Sourcepreferencesinthecontextofseekingproblem-specificinformation.
InformationProcessing&Management,44(1),274-293.
Slater,M.
,&Steed,A.
(2002).
Meetingpeoplevirtually:Experimentsinsharedvirtualenvironments.
TheSocialLifeofAvatars:PresenceandInteractioninShared46VirtualEnvironments,146–171.
Tombros,A.
,Ruthven,I.
,&Jose,J.
M.
(2005).
Howusersassesswebpagesforinformationseeking.
JournaloftheAmericanSocietyforInformationScienceandTechnology,56(4),327-344.
Williamson,K.
(1998).
Discoveredbychance:Theroleofincidentalinformationacquisitioninanecologicalmodelofinformationuse.
LibraryandInformationScienceResearch,20(1),23-40.
47AppendixAWebsiteUsedByParticipantstoVolunteerforStudyThankyouforyourinterestinparticipatinginthestudyInformationSeekinginWorldofWarcraft.
Atthistime,thestudyhasreachedthemaximumnumberofparticipantsandcannottakeanymorevolunteers.
IRBStudy#09-0158TitleofStudy:InformationSeekinginWorldofWarcraftPrincipalInvestigator:KelliMonahanUNC-ChapelHillDepartment:SILSUNC-ChapelHillPhoneNumber:(719)433-6448EmailAddress:kmonahan@email.
unc.
eduFacultyAdvisor:Dr.
GaryMarchioniniStudyContacttelephonenumber:(719)433-6448StudyContactemail:kmonahan@email.
unc.
eduWhataresomegeneralthingsyoushouldknowaboutresearchstudiesYouarebeingaskedtotakepartinaresearchstudy.
Tojointhestudyisvoluntary.
Youmayrefusetojoin,oryoumaywithdrawyourconsenttobeinthestudy,foranyreason,withoutpenalty.
Researchstudiesaredesignedtoobtainnewknowledge.
Thisnewinformationmayhelppeopleinthefuture.
Youmaynotreceiveanydirectbenefitfrombeingintheresearchstudy.
Therealsomayberiskstobeinginresearchstudies.
Detailsaboutthisstudyarediscussedbelow.
Itisimportantthatyouunderstandthisinformationsothatyoucanmakeaninformedchoiceaboutbeinginthisresearchstudy.
Youwillbegivenacopyofthisconsentform.
Youshouldasktheresearchersnamedabove,orstaffmemberswhomayassistthem,anyquestionsyouhaveaboutthisstudyatanytime.
WhatisthepurposeofthisstudyThepurposeofthisresearchstudyistolearnabouthow,ifatall,WorldofWarcraftplayersusethecapabilitiestoobserve,communicatewith,andbeassistedbyotherplayerstolookforinformationwithinthegameworld.
48ArethereanyreasonsyoushouldnotbeinthisstudyYoushouldnotbeinthisstudyifyouhavenotplayedWorldofWarcraftlongenoughtohaveatleastonecharacterreachlevel10.
HowmanypeoplewilltakepartinthisstudyIfyoudecidetobeinthisstudy,youwillbeoneofapproximately20peopleinthisresearchstudy.
HowlongwillyourpartinthisstudylastYourpartinthisstudywilllastforthetimeittakestoscheduleandcompleteoneinterview.
Theinterviewitselfwilltakeapproximatelythirtyminutes.
WhatwillhappenifyoutakepartinthestudyYouwillbeaskedtomeetwiththeprincipalinvestigatorandansweraseriesofquestionsabouthowyoulookforinformationwithintheworldofWorldofWarcraft.
Pleaseunderstandthatwearenottryingtoassessyourabilitiesbutratherhowpeopleingeneralgatherinformationinthegame.
WhatarethepossiblebenefitsfrombeinginthisstudyResearchisdesignedtobenefitsocietybygainingnewknowledge.
Youmaynotbenefitpersonallyfrombeinginthisresearchstudy.
WhatarethepossiblerisksordiscomfortsinvolvedfrombeinginthisstudyWhilealleffortswillbetakentoprotectyourprivacy,ifyouparticipateinthisstudy,thereisariskoflossofprivacyifyourparticipationoranswersbecomeknow.
Theremaybeuncommonorpreviouslyunknownrisks.
Youshouldreportanyproblemstotheresearcher.
HowwillyourprivacybeprotectedRecordswillbestoredonapasswordprotectedcomputerande-mailaccount.
Onlytheprincipalinvestigatorandthefacultyadvisorwillhaveaccesstoindividuallyidentifiabledata.
Participantswillnotbeidentifiedinanyreportorpublicationaboutthisstudy.
Althougheveryeffortwillbemadetokeepresearchrecordsprivate,theremaybetimeswhenfederalorstatelawrequiresthedisclosureofsuchrecords,includingpersonalinformation.
Thisisveryunlikely,butifdisclosureiseverrequired,UNC-ChapelHillwilltakestepsallowablebylawtoprotecttheprivacyofpersonalinformation.
Insomecases,yourinformationinthisresearchstudycouldbereviewedbyrepresentativesoftheUniversity,researchsponsors,orgovernmentagenciesforpurposessuchasqualitycontrolorsafety.
Audiotapesofinterviewswillbestoredinalockedapartment.
Aftertapeshavebeentranscribed,theywillberecordedover.
Yournamewillnotbeincludedinnordirectlylinkedtothetranscript.
Ifyouwouldprefernottohavetheinterviewrecorded,youmayrequestthattherecordernotbeused.
49Whenyousignthephysicalconsentform,youwillhavetheoptionwhetheritisorisnotokaytorecordyouduringthestudy.
WillyoureceiveanythingforbeinginthisstudyYouwillnotreceiveanythingfortakingpartinthisstudy.
WillitcostyouanythingtobeinthisstudyYourcostswillincludetransportationandparkingifyoumustcometotheUNC-CHcampustoparticipateinthisstudy.
WhatifyouareaUNCstudentYoumaychoosenottobeinthestudyortostopbeinginthestudybeforeitisoveratanytime.
ThiswillnotaffectyourclassstandingorgradesatUNC-ChapelHill.
Youwillnotbeofferedorreceiveanyspecialconsiderationifyoutakepartinthisresearch.
WhatifyouareaUNCemployeeTakingpartinthisresearchisnotapartofyourUniversityduties,andrefusingwillnotaffectyourjob.
Youwillnotbeofferedorreceiveanyspecialjob-relatedconsiderationifyoutakepartinthisresearch.
WhatifyouhavequestionsaboutthisstudyYouhavetherighttoask,andhaveanswered,anyquestionsyoumayhaveaboutthisresearch.
Ifyouhavequestions,orconcerns,youshouldcontacttheresearcherslistedonthefirstpageofthisform.
WhatifyouhavequestionsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipantAllresearchonhumanvolunteersisreviewedbyacommitteethatworkstoprotectyourrightsandwelfare.
Ifyouhavequestionsorconcernsaboutyourrightsasaresearchsubjectyoumaycontact,anonymouslyifyouwish,theInstitutionalReviewBoardat919-966-3113orbyemailtoIRB_subjects@unc.
edu.
http://www.
ils.
unc.
edu/~kmonahan/WoWStudy/signupform.
php