Game 3 Informed Consent

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

INFORMED CONSENT
Project Name: Real World Assumptions Constructed
Through Virtually Embodied Experiences
Purpose of the Study: This research project studies how
experiences in a virtual world, like Second Life, might
influence people’s expectations for real world experiences.
Expected Duration: The researcher will interview each
participant. Interviews will last an hour or less. The researcher
will also exchange e-mail messages with the participant to set
up the telephone interview and to clarify any information
received during the interview. A follow-up interview (also an
hour or less) may be scheduled once the data is processed.
Procedures to be Followed: The researcher will ask the
interviewee to describe how interactions with the Second Life
interface may have carried over into real life: Does the
participant ever find himself/herself trying to accomplish
something in real life that he/she would do in Second Life?
One absurd example might be flying or teleporting. Does the
participant ever, for even a brief instant, anticipate flying or
teleporting to move from one location to another? If the
researcher and the participant identify transfer expectations,
then the researcher will probe the participant to describe those
transfer expectations, their correlates (the real life expectation
and the Second Life activity), and why they might occur. The
participant will also be asked to provide references that refer
other Second Life community members known to have had
similar transfer expectations. The researcher will ask that
referrals include e-mail contact information.
Foreseeable Risks or Discomforts: There should be no risks
associated with this study beyond those normally experienced
in everyday life.
Benefits Which May Result from Research: This research
will inform the Center for Educational Technologies’ game
research program. Findings will be used to design and
implement learning environments for enhanced learning
achievement.
Alternative Procedures or Courses of Treatment: This
research simply collects relevant participant experiences.
Therefore, there are no related alternative procedures or
courses of treatment.
www.nasa.gov

Confidentiality: Any reporting of interview data will be
confidential. Some interview participants have publicly posted
their views on transfer experiences to a Second Life listserv.
The researcher has obtained permission from those
individuals to quote those listserv posts, using appropriate
citation and reference formatting. The researcher will not
report connections between the individuals’ listserv posts and
their interview protocols.
Participant Rights: The participant has the right to ask
pertinent questions about the research, subject’s rights, and
research-related injury to the subject. Subjects can contact the
researcher through e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone
(304-243-4327) between 8:30a.m. and 5p.m., Eastern time.
Institutional Review Board: The Institutional Review Board
at Wheeling Jesuit University has approved this study.
Participants with questions about their rights as human
subjects may contact the board chair, Dr. Beverly Carter, at
(304) 243-2340 or [email protected].

I, __________________________________________,
[print first and last name]

certify that I am 18 years of age or older. I have been a
member of the Second Life community. I agree to
participate in this study, as outlined above.
Signature ____________________________________
Date _______________________________________
Please sign this form and mail or FAX it to:
Dr. Debbie Denise Reese
Center for Educational Technologies
Wheeling Jesuit University
316 WAshington Ave.
Wheeling, West Virginia 26003
Fax: 304-243-2497 (attn: Debbie Denise Reese)