Proceedings of the SLACTIONS 2010 International Conference Life, imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

Second Life as a research environment: Avatar-to-Avatar interviews.

Eman Gadalla
Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, UK. Thanks to the Internet nearly a billion individuals worldwide have the possibility to communicate in various ways (Ondrejka, 2005), making possible the rapid increase in use of spatial three-dimensional interfaces for multiplayer games, groupware systems, and multi-user chat systems(Gerhard, Moore and Hobbs, 2004). Online virtual worlds (VWs) is a rapidly developing set of technologies which may grow to be the standard interface to the informational universe of the Web, and extremely change the way humans communicate with information constructs and with each other (Djorgovski et al., 2009). Generally, virtual environments like Second Life where people can work and interact in a somewhat realistic manner are becoming important tools for social networking, entertainment. Moreover, there has been an increasing interest in nongame applications of virtual world technology. There has been progress on customer adoption, simulation, training, brand building, and numerous new start ups that could potentially take virtual world technology into the mainstream. Early investments in virtual world technology from customers started to be successful, providing the much-needed success stories and reference accounts for the industry. Major consumer brands, educators, corporations and governments all took notice of virtual worlds and began evaluating the potential of the technology for their own uses (Renaud and Kane, 2008). Just as the Web and the browser technology have altered the world, and almost every aspect of modern society, including scientific research, education, immersive virtual environments create some intriguing novel possibilities for research (Djorgovski et al, 2009). Particularly, these environments have great potential as sites for research in the social, behavioural, and economic sciences, as well as in human-centred computer science as they provide researchers in different fields a unique opportunity to construct an environment similar to real world (Bainbridge et al, 2007; Bloomfield, 2007). Due to the virtual worlds ability to stimulate the realism of physical places and the existing high level social interactions within them, it is currently attracting the attention of scholars from different disciplines, such as legal (Grimmelmann 2004), psychology (Gorini, Gaggioli and Riva 2007), sociology (Bainbridge 2007), economics (Chesney Chuah and Hoffmann 2007), and communication (Yee et al. 2007). The aim of the paper is to discuss the nature and the potential virtual interviews in Second Life as a research tool, describing some of its characteristics, advantages, and limitations concluding with some suggestions on how to improve the interviewing process in Second Life. The prime objective is to investigate the nature of 51 conducting virtual interviews in Second Life and identify the main characteristics that distinguish virtual interviews from face to face; this can be achieved through answering the following questions: 1- What are the advantages of using Second Life as a method for collecting data through interviews (if any)? 2- What are the disadvantages of using Second Life as a method for collecting data through interviews (if any)? 3- How to improve the interviewing process in Second Life?

Collaborative virtual environments: Second Life.

A collaborative virtual environment (CVE) is a computer-generated, multi-user, three-dimensional interface in which users can also experience other participants as being present in the environment (Schroeder 2002). Each user interacts freely with the simulated environment through his or her individual avatar, defined as a representation of the users identity within the computer environment (Gerhard et al., 2004). Collaborative Virtual Environment technologies allow people to come together virtually and engage with each other, either for work-related purposes or social interaction and play. Benford et al. (1995) suggests that CVEs have a number of characteristics: navigation, embodiment, communication, and interaction. Similarly, Churchill et al (1998) argues that CVEs support shared context, awareness of others, negotiation and communication, and flexible and multiple viewpoints. Through these features, CVEs have the potential to address the practical collaborative needs of geographically dispersed users (Garau 2003). Due to these distinctive features CVEs have successfully been used in a number of application areas such as conferencing, meetings, education, simulation and training, shared visualisation and collaborative design, social communities, entertainment (e.g., multiplayer games) and therapy (Garau, 2003; Schroeder, 2002). Generally, Rossney (1996) emphasized that one of the main aspects that distinguishes collaborative virtual environments from other social spaces is providing a tangible representative form of the user; the avatar. The avatar as a bodily presence in virtual space provides a focus for conversation and social interaction (Slater et al., 2000). Moreover, Donath (1998) advocated that avatars used as a communication tool between users can have the equivalent effect of a face-to-face communication given the fact that avatars can talk to each other. Avatars do not necessarily have to be a true representation of the user; it might be an entirely abstract shape, a cartoon character or a humanlike representation. Additionally, Gerhard et al., (2004) pointed out the various useful properties such as

Proceedings of the SLACTIONS 2010 International Conference Life, imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

identity, presence, subordination, authority, and social facilitation, gained from using avatars in CVEs. Since each avatar is both part of the perceived environment and represents the user to others, CVEs potentially offer a high level of mutual awareness (Slater and Wilbur 1997). Second Life (www.secondlife.com) is a 3D virtual world founded in 2003 and managed by the San Franciscobased company Linden Research Inc. As mentioned by Philip Rosedale, founder and CEO of Linden Lab, Second Life offers a truly collaborative, immersive, and open-ended entertainment experience. Besides doing everything that is possible and not possible in real life, Second life gives users the opportunity to create content (e.g., to design virtual clothing, furniture items, buildingsetc). Second Life is the largest adult freeform virtual world, home to 12 million avatars (IOWA State University, 2008). It is addressed by Wagner 2008 that the reason behind Second Life success is its simple usercentred philosophy. Instead of attempting to control the users activities the creators of Second Life turned them loose. Everything found in SLs landscape, including stores, businesses, houses, office buildings, campuses, island villas, night clubs, and jewellery, are all constructed by users themselves (Cross, ODriscoll, & Trondsen, 2007). Moreover, users are given intellectual rights to their creations and are able to sell them to others in exchange for Linden Dollars, a virtual currency traded against the U.S. Dollar on the Second Life Exchange. Some users are very successful in gaining profits which can be transformed to real money to complement their real life income. Thus, these 3 transactions can create a strong economic connection between the virtual and the real world. When Second Life was launched, it had nothing inside; there was nothing to see. However, SL now is considered the most prominent example of virtual worlds and the largest virtual world for the adult age group and the most well-known of the freeform virtual worlds (KZero, 2008). Currently in Second Life, there are more than 100 real-life brands in different fields of industries, including automative, professional services and consumer goods and travel (KZero, 2007; New Business Horizons, 2009). In conclusion, because of the relative novelty of such environments, both marketing and academic research related to Second Life is in its nascent stages and is just beginning to fully articulate the theories, models and tools for conducting research and reaching understanding. More evidence is necessary to investigate the applicability of using Second Life as a research environment and to shed greater light on how to make the most of this opportunity.

Second Life as a research tool:

Second Life is arguably considered the best current example of a virtual world due to the complexity and sophistication of its virtual social and economic environment. Although the rise of virtual worlds presents unique opportunities for innovative research methods (Hemp 2006, Novak 2007), little research has focused on virtual worlds like Second Life as a data collection tool. 52

Bloomfield (2007) advocated that the ability of virtual worlds to simulate both the laws of physics as well as economic systems allows virtual worlds to provide a good basis for business research. Currently, substantial research has concluded that social, psychophysical and economic behaviours enacted in virtual worlds are consistent with real life behaviours (e.g. Miller 2007; Chesney et al. 2007; Yee et al. 2007). Particularly, Massara et al, (2009) pointed out that virtual worlds are externally valid contexts for marketing research. They based their research on the social response theory of consumer behaviour, which predicts that the use of social cues in human-computer interaction (i.e., language, human voice, interactivity, social role and etc.), elicit more sincere responses (Moon 2000; Moon 2003) and promotes behavior which commonly take place in human-human interactions (Wang et al. 2007). They found preliminary evidence indicating that research conducted in virtual worlds can produce similar pattern of results to research conducted in real world but with the advantage of increased efficiency and control. Due to this consistency across real and virtual environments, virtual worlds can serve as laboratory environments for furthering consumer knowledge (Hemp 2006; Novak 2007; 2008) and more generally can serve as a platform for scientific research (Bainbridge 2007, Djorgovski et al 2009, Miller 2007). Furthermore, Virtual worlds such as Second Life support internal economies with convertible currencies, intellectual property and free market exchange (Massara and Novak 2008). The main effect of this characteristic is increased realism and higher and justified motivation to play (Ondrejka 2007). Earning a salary in the virtual world, for example through research incentives, gives the player purchasing power within it. On the other hand, the tremendous research potential of virtual worlds cannot obscure the fact that there are problems as well. There is a danger that virtual worlds will encourage the profession of the survey responder (Sparrow 2007). Unfortunately this problem has hindered traditional online attitudinal research, and can considerably delay the development of this type of research in virtual worlds. To deal with such a problem it will be necessary to continuously check for participants motivation, controlling for the accuracy of their answers. Finally, Research conducted in virtual worlds can provide researchers with more advantages over both traditional studies (cost advantages) and pure web-based studies (control advantages). Generally, research in virtual worlds overcomes the trade-off between the efficiency of online surveys and the effectiveness of traditional research, qualifying as a possible innovation in the social sciences (Bainbridge 2007). Virtual worlds as research settings are much richer than the traditional online websites (Massara and Novak 2008), owing to their specific characteristics. This is due to their ability to facilitate higher level of presence and more perceptual and psychological immersion which in return will increase the individuals engagement with the environment (Grigrovici, 2003; Grigrovici and

Proceedings of the SLACTIONS 2010 International Conference Life, imagination, and work using metaverse platforms

Constantin, 2004). Likewise, Yee (2007) argued that immersion, social and achievement are considered the main reasons for user motivations to play in massively multiplayer online games like virtual worlds. Immersion relates to curiosity and escapism, social to behaving altruistically by helping others, and achievement to the desire to gain power and for the accumulation of wealth symbols and status (Yee 2007). Given these characteristics, virtual worlds are developing into complex social systems which now go well beyond a chat environment. Thus, virtual worlds empower humancomputer interaction with a visual technology which permits an immersive experience in an absolutely new way compared to the text-based cyberspace (Massara and Novak 2008).

can imitate the conditions of real world (Bloomfield 2007), allowing for psycho-physical, economic and social behaviours which mimic real life behaviours (Bailenson et al. 2006; Miller 2006; Chesney, Chuah and Hoffmann 2007; Gorini, Gaggioli and Riva 2007; Yee et al. 2007). Therefore, since social rules apply to general human-computer interaction, and since virtual worlds provide such a vivid representation of real world, it is expected that behaviour in virtual world is truthful reflecting real behaviour. Accordingly, opinions provided in the context of a virtual world should not be different compared to those provided offline making virtual worlds appropriate settings for marketing research (Massara et al, 2009).

Research Design:
An exploratory study will be conducted using semistructured interviews; both face-to face and in-world. As with any method, in-depth interviews has their pros and cons. For face-to-face interviews, one of the main advantages is the free exchange of information achieved through the flexibility in addressing the research questions (Cassell and Symon, 2004) and the direct responses (Malhotra, 2004). However, a lot of time and costs are associated with this technique (Cassell and Symon, 2004). Although, Face-to-face interviews have long been the dominant interview technique in the field of qualitative research, using Second Life as a research tool to conduct interviews can also provide the researcher with numerous advantages. In undertaking in-world interviews, there is no concern about data recording (Oconnor and Madge, 2003) and transcribing (Kazmer and Xie, 2008). However, there are also a number of challenges. Responses are sometimes very short without any correct structure and this will require the researcher to spend a lot of effort and time in terms of cleaning and organizing the data (Kazmer and Xie, 2008). A purposive sample of 20 participants will be recruited for the study. One justifiable use of a purposive sample is for exploratory purposes, that is, to get different views on the dimensions of a phenomenon, to probe for possible explanations or hypotheses, and to explore constructs for dealing with particular phenomenon. Half of the interviews will be conducted online within the SL environment and the other half face-to-face, with the number of male and female participants kept consistent across the two groups. The sample composition will reflect the gender and age characteristics of the Second Life population. All participants will be active users of SL within the age group 20-50 years and had experience shopping with some brand. in that virtual environment. In addition, respondents are sought from the USA, the UK and Germany, as these three represent over 50% of SL users.

Expected Results
We argue that there might not be any evident difference between the results of online and face-to-face interviews. This expectation is based on the idea that virtual worlds 53