Research Prospectus

Abstract
This Prospectus specifies the plan for a research project in Second Life. Below the reader will find an introduction to Second Life as well as the area in Second Life that I plan to research. Also I will briefly cover the methods I will use to conduct this research and who and what it is exactly that I plan to study. I will examine possible limitations I may run into while researching as well as what I believe my research may achieve.
Introduction: Research Problem
Second Life is a virtual world produced and operated by Linden Lab. While Second Life has the appearance of a typical video game it is really quite different and better referred to as a virtual world or virtual environment. Unlike a standard video game there is no way to “finish” Second Life, nor are there levels to pass. Instead, Second Life is a social platform allowing people to do whatever they want to do with in this virtual space. Users can be whom they want, when they want and how they want with nearly no limitations. Just about everything in Second Life is created by users, meaning that people with the know how and desire can produce anything from a cowboy hat to wear, to a tree to place in their virtual back yard (or living room), to a functional helicopter. Users can buy and own real estate in Second Life with Linden dollars, which have an actual US dollar exchange rate, and people have been known to actually earn (real) money with their Second Life investments.
(Second Life: The Official Guide by Michael Rymaszewski, Wagner James Au, Mark Wallace, Catherine Winters, Cory Ondrejka, Benjamin Batstone-Cunningham)

As noted just about anything is possible within this virtual world of Second Life. The community of practice I selected, after spending time in-world investigating alternatives is, for lack of a better term the “virtual club scene”. This can include dance clubs, bars and raves of all sorts. The club scene, or nightlife in Second Life is a fairly large one which will allow me to branch out into a variety of clubs. I will be studying the weekend nightlife of Second Life and since Second Life is operating around the world 24/7 there’s always something going on. With that said there is a wealth of opportunities to research with in this community.
There are indeed a wide variety of areas that one could potentially research and study with in such a community but my efforts will be focused towards one area with in the community. I intend to research the club-goers as a whole, and my work will most likely be done in at most 2 or perhaps 3 different (but similar) locations. I will be trying to get a good understanding of the “regulars” in the nightlife environment. This will include gaining a better understanding of the happenings in the field as well as a better idea as to who exactly the “regulars” are as opposed to a less experienced participant.
Below I will briefly go over some terms that may not be familiar to the reader:
Avatar
An avatar is a virtual representation of the user in Second Life. This may represent what the user looks like in real life or something completely different. Avatars vary in almost any way imaginable, from size to age to clothing to human to not so human.
SL
SL is the acronym for Second Life
Method
Qualatative Approaches to Researching
For my research I will be using a few different qualitative approaches while in the field. The first of which will be the use of semi-structured interviews. The interviews I conduct will likely be done outside of actual club events as I will want to take advantage of different means of research while the more major events are taking place. This is the only approach I will be utilizing that could possibly take place outside of the field.
The second approach is the “passive presence” approach. I will remain in the field and my presence will be acknowledged but I will not be participating in the events around me. This will allow me to take detailed notes while in the field. However this approach will likely draw unwanted attention and could possibly altar the events around me to proceed as they would under normal circumstances. I will likely use this method as my identification as a researcher becomes public knowledge.
The third approach will probably be the most used, and that is the “limited interaction” approach. This will be much like the second approach but as the name suggests my participation in the scene will be limited, allowing me to take notes as well. Of course taking notes is less of an action to keep away from in SL as compared to real life since the people around me will not see me physically typing or writing in a notebook.
Subject Protection
Anonymity is a priority in this research and no names of both the subjects involved as well as the locations used will be released. The subjects and landowners in SL are made aware of this via a virtual note card that details the subject protection protocols that I will be using (This note card can be found at the end of this paper). I will make sure to have informed consent of the landowners whose land I will be working on as well as the permission of the subjects involved in any interviews, all of whom will remain anonymous and have a copy of the subject protection note card.
As previously mentioned the population I will study will be the SL “nightlife” or club scene. The population as a whole will consist of clubs, raves and bars and any other recreational location in association with the idea of a real life urban (or not) night or party scene. This will consist of anyone ages 18 and above (Younger people are on a second “teen grid” in SL) involved in some way with the SL nightlife.
Sampling
The sampling strategies I will use will be strongly based around peak club hours. I will take advantage of posted events (there is an event search tool in SL that will allow users to see posted events along with their date and the time in which they are scheduled to start) in an effort to have the largest possible turn out to sample from. The best times will be evening hours on almost any day of the week with Thursday through Saturday being optimal. Being that I will only frequent at most 3 different locations I will be able to get a strong understanding of who is who at each location. I will want to conduct my research on the people that I see frequenting the scene that have no direct relation as an owner or managerial position with in the location in an effort to find the “average” club attendees among the group.
Time Management
I will want to attend events in their entirety to get an accurate idea of the activities in the field. Most events last 2 to 3 hours (as scheduled) but can drag on through out the evening depending on the occasion. It may also be wise to arrive early at the event locations to get a better idea of the pre-event “rituals”. With that said I will spend time at events at varying rates per week. One week I will spend a heavier amount of time in the field and the next I will spend less time in the field and more time out of the field dealing with data processing and notes.

I will be doing reviews of relevant literature once I have begun to collect a substantial amount of data. The literature I will review will be focused on qualitative field research and ethnography. One book I will likely be reviewing is “Field Research: Strategies for a Natural Sociology” by Leonard Schatzman and Anselm L. Strauss which covers strategies of ethnography.
Potential Limitations
Researching in a virtual environment as opposed to a real one can have both advantages and disadvantages. One major limitation of examining a social scene in SL is that there can and will be conversations taking place right in front of me that I will not have access to since they will be done privately via instant messaging. Unfortunately I only get the representation of ones avatar that they decide to make public. Being that the club environment is a very socially oriented one there may be a higher frequency of private conversations taking place.
Another issue is that due to the size of my chosen population I will simply not be able to research all of the club environments. That said I will only have research done with in a handful of clubs and my understandings will be based off of the clubs I do research and not necessarily the club scene as a whole.
As previously stated I will be limited to the version of the subjects that they make public which could lead to inaccurate information in some areas of my research. The subject too could alter this public image if my identity as a researcher is revealed. I do, however, hope to avoid these inaccurate portrayals by conducting my own loosely structured (as to give the illusion of a conversation) private interviews to get an accurate view of the subjects on a more personal level.
Discussion
With this research I hope to provide some insight as to the reasons why people participate in this virtual nightlife and club scene in SL. I hope to discover what the subjects want to achieve and what they want out of such a virtual environment. Potentially this research could shed light onto what people truly desire in these events and locations and could possibly improve upon the events and locations themselves.
The findings in my research may allow us to have a better understanding of what takes place in a virtual social gathering and what similarities or differences there are as compared to a similar real life social gathering. This research may hint at what relevance a virtual social environment may have in the future in regards to social networking via the internet.

Appendix: Informed Consent Document
Below is the note card that will be given in SL to land owners and subjects to gain informed consent. The note card will physically (in a virtual sense, anyway) handed to other avatars in world.
My name is Matt Williams/Zerodividedby Infinity.
I am an undergraduate student enrolled in an introduction to research methods class (Multimedia 444: Field Research In Virtual Worlds) at Bradley University in Peoria Il, USA, that is being conducted in Second Life. 

We are learning to do field research/ethnography and will not complete projects this term. But next semester, if we decide to do a project, our projects feature observation of a “community of practice,” that is, a group of people doing similar things in a cultural setting. I am observing this area at this time as I consider what work I might do next term.

My observations are merely descriptive: I’ll take notes about what I see and I may summarize those notes in my paper, in class presentations to my classmates, or on my web-blog about this research. The blog is found at: < http://slane.bradley.edu/com/faculty/lamoureux/website2/333/bloglinks333_07.html >. 

I will not record or publish either the SL or RL name of any avatar/person. Any observations about avatars or recording of their talk transcripts would take place only after having obtained the explicit permission of that avatar/person and would only happen after the name of the avatar had been changed via secret coding scheme. I will ask you if I can have your permission to use your talk as an exercise in learning about observing and taking notes. Any pictures taken in SL, that serve as explanatory information and which might include avatars, will be modified so that avatar names and identifying characteristics are blurred/blocked.
We will also learn how to interview informants about the communities of practice that we are studying. In this class, our conversations are informal and preliminary to actual data collection and interviewing. These conversations are, again, voluntary and only with the informed permission of the avatar/person/informant. To avoid linking you personally to your responses with an informed consent your completing the interview (survey) will imply consent. Will may copy out the chat transcript from our conversations/interviews. When we do, we will change/code your name so that there is no recorded connection between you/your avatar and the data. You may choose to withdraw at any time without penalty by simply telling me you wish to stop. 

You may follow the progress of all of the class, at: . Information that we describe on our blogs serve as our gift to the communities of practice who share time and knowledge with us; perhaps our perspectives will help residents more fully understand and appreciate their activities.
If you have questions regarding the study, you can contact me, in world or our of world via email at , or my teacher, Professor Beliveau in world or out of world as Ed Lamoureux at ell@bradley.edu, 309-677-2378.

Do you read English clearly enough to understand this form and to respond?
Do you have any questions? May I observe your behavior in this setting and make notes about it as part of a class exercise (rather than data collection for analysis & publication)?
Thank you for your time and consideration of my requests. Do you agree? ______

-Zero

Report on my interview

The subject I interviewed was one of about 6 to 8 people on the dance floor that was not directly affiliated (from my point of view) with the club itself. I told the subject briefly about what I was doing, trying to keep the conversation as natural as possible. I then asked if I could ask a few questions and I then proceeded to give her the subject protection note card. The subject agreed and I began my interview process. I first asked about the kinds of activities and behaviors that she would typically find occurring in club environments. She responded by saying that the activities she witnessed were “relatively tame and expected”. I then asked if she attended any similar (club/night club) events outside of SL, she responded “no”. I then inquired about her feelings on SL clubs as a dating or singles scene and she believed much of the activities and conversations that take place are definitely “singles behavior”. I asked if the relationships that develop from this remain in SL and she was unaware but personally felt they remained in SL due to distance in real life that would most likely separate the people. I then asked what she believed might be the primary reason for attending these events in SL, she responded by saying that “it’s a way for people to be free, relax and be somebody else”. The interview concluded at this point. With this interview I had hoped to get a better idea as to the reasons people attend clubs in SL and behave in the ways that they do. While I wanted to have more in-depth responses, the responses I did receive were adequate and they helped to confirm the behavior I felt was going on.

-Zero