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Survey regarding Goals in Computer Games...volunteers needed!

Greetings,

I am currently a Computer Games Design study studying Computer Games Design at University, and of need of some volunteers to carry out a survey. The aim of this electronic survey is to understanding and explaining the preference for a variety of goal choices, in relation to self-determination and achievement orientation theories in current generation gamers.

It is a three part questionnaire focusing on player goal orientation, and open to individuals with any experience in playing any current Computer Game, on any gaming platform. The questionnaire should take no more than 15 minutes, and ONLY ONE questionnaire needs to be completed. You must be aged 18 and above, due ethics and age rating boundaries. Any confidential information will be kept under strict confidence covered under the data protection act, with anonymity given to all those surveyed.

Please answer ALL questions as accurately as possible. Answer as you really are, not as the person you would like to be, or how you think others view you. There are no right or wrong answers. If you are unsure with an answer, choose the answer that is most appropriate. Some questions may appear to be similar, but this is the manor of the questionnaire and the topics it relates to. All questions should be answered as if they were unique, and not in reference to questions perceived to be related. Please click on the link below to begin the survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/goalsandgames

Thank you very much for your time and your help is greatly appreciated. Once all research has been gathered i will post up the results on this thread allowing for further discussion on the topic.

Replies

  • Noodle!
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    Noodle! polycounter lvl 8
    I'm in the middle of answering it now, but I think it's interesting that you bunch an MMO like WoW together with Skyrim when asking for preference. As I would've given WOW (or most mmo's) a 1 or 2 and games like Skyrim a 6 or 7. I find they are in completely different genres.

    Also some questions are strangely formulated, for instance:

    When playing a computer game...My aim is to avoid learning less than I possibly can
    I'm struggling to understand what it means, do you mean "my aim is to learn as much as possible"?

    and:
    My aim is to avoid performing poorly compared to others
    My aim is to perform better than the other players
    My aim is to avoid doing worse than other players

    etc etc

    Actually all of page 3 seems like the same questions over and over but formulated in strange ways.

    The 4th part seems even stranger, and I'm not even sure what I answered a few times.
    I filled it out, but I must say the questoins are often strange and easily misunderstood.
  • miksalmon101
    Thank you for your feedback.

    The preference options are basic due to it being a secondary focus of the paper with the primary focus being applied to the goal orientated questions. Thus, it is just a quick question that may provide some comparisons on really basic level.

    The remaining questions may seem very similar, but they cover very similar aspects, but can provide small variations between the answers that can give different answers. The questions you refer to are taken from research into Goal Orientation Theory, and altered slightly to refer the volunteer to computer games. It is the same for the last section, which refers to self-determination. I cannot really provide additional details as I do not want to influence any ones answers until the research is over

    However If you would like some further information on achievement orientation theory then I suggest reading a couple of papers, specifically: Heeter, C. et al., 2011. Beyond player types. In ACM Press, and Elliot, A.J. & Murayama, K., 2008. On the measurement of achievement goals: Critique, illustration, and application. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), pp.613-628.

    Of course research is not always perfect. I am sure that there are many other areas which can be improved. However, the research topics and research methods are quite limited regarding achievement orientation theory and self-determination theory in computer games. What I learn from this I can use to improve my studies later on.
  • Paradan
    not bad, most of the questions were good, although the wording on some of them was confusing.

    you listed shooters, rpgs and simulations as game categories. no strategy games?.
  • SnakeDoctor
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    SnakeDoctor polycounter lvl 14
    Noodle! wrote: »
    I'm in the middle of answering it now, but I think it's interesting that you bunch an MMO like WoW together with Skyrim when asking for preference. As I would've given WOW (or most mmo's) a 1 or 2 and games like Skyrim a 6 or 7. I find they are in completely different genres.

    Also some questions are strangely formulated, for instance:When playing a computer game...My aim is to avoid learning less than I possibly can
    I'm struggling to understand what it means, do you mean "my aim is to learn as much as possible"?

    and:My aim is to avoid performing poorly compared to others
    My aim is to perform better than the other players
    My aim is to avoid doing worse than other players

    etc etc

    Actually all of page 3 seems like the same questions over and over but formulated in strange ways.

    The 4th part seems even stranger, and I'm not even sure what I answered a few times.
    I filled it out, but I must say the questoins are often strange and easily misunderstood.


    I agree, When playing a computer game...My aim is to avoid learning less than I possibly can made my brain hurt. Was funny when I asked my fiance the same question and saw her struggle lol.
  • miksalmon101
    It seems that other forums have pointed out the same issue with regards to the questions. However, just like yourselves it is point directly at the middle questions which are the only ones directly taken from previous research questionnaires. From the research that I have performed there were no references to people commenting on the similarity of questions and therefore had not anticipated this problem.

    The original question to 'My aim is to avoid learning less than I possibly can', is 'My aim is to avid learning less than I possibly could'. It refers to achievement in schools. So it is very similar. I did not want orientate away from the original research as I did not want to invalidate the results in any way.

    As for the classification of genres, majority of research again has been focused on those three genres. So to relate to my research I felt important to focus on those three alone. The nature of the research focuses on fixed and emergent goals, and according to my hypothesis, those who prefer simulation would have higher preference for emergent, whereas those who prefer FPS would have higher preference for fixed goals. RPG would come in between. As mentioned above this is a secondary focus that seemed worthwhile since I was sending out questionnaires.

    Thank you very much for your feedback. It all goes to aiding in my current and future research. Much appreciated
  • miksalmon101
    My supervisor seemed very confused by the same issue of the problems. He suggested just continuing and writing analysis the result collected then go from there. Might need to reformat the questionnaire at a later date. Thanks guys. Just need 4 more to reach 150 though!
  • miksalmon101
    Thank very much to those who have filled out the questionnaire. Have reached a current total of 155 completed surveys. Do need some more so if you have a quick 10-15 minutes then every reply helps
  • miksalmon101
    Thank very much to those who have filled out the questionnaire. Only need 21 to reach 200...a nice round number.

    If you have a quick 10 minutes then every reply helps
  • miksalmon101
    193 people...need 7 more to reach the 200 mark.

    Please anybody...takes no more than 10 minutes. Help is greatly appreciated
  • miksalmon101
    WOW! reached 261 in the last week. Thank you for all those who have completed my survey. Your help is greatly appreciated.
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