[Insert emoji or avatar here]: Phenomenology and digital research. Issue 3 (1st September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Blackmon, Stephanie J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of gaming & virtual worlds. Volume 9:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 193
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2017-09-01
• Subjects: Virtual reality -- Periodicals; Electronic games -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Electronic games -- Evaluation -- Periodicals; Electronic games -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; 303.4834
• DOI: 10.1386/jgvw.9.3.193_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1757-191X

Abstract

The way people engage and communicate with each other has changed tremendously since the advent of virtual worlds and other online learning and social networking modalities. Technological advances have made it possible for people to interact with each other and environments differently. For researchers interested in these environments and people's experiences with them, traditional research methods may not capture the nuanced nature of these online interactions. Some researchers continue to use traditional methods to examine participants' online experiences. However, other researchers have adapted traditional methods to fit the unique nature of online environments. In a similar fashion, this work proposes a way to conduct phenomenological research that is specific to the online environment. The work deals specifically with the way one researcher conducted a study in a virtual world, but these methods can be used in other online environments as well.