Jan 21, 2013 Recently, while working on developing a new course, I ran across my Proposal presentation for my Dissertation. I decided that I should add it to my site. Below is the presentation for my proposal that allowed me to clear my requirements so that I finally was ABD.
Sep 14, 2012 So, I finally got a little Karma going and the university actually funded my account this today. As such, I was able to send out all of the promised incentives. That included the $1.29 Amazon gift cards for filling out my mound of paperwork as well as the much treasured 6 months of free WoW game time. The study is all but over as I wait for a few stragglers to complete the interview with me.
However, out on the horizon are 2 items:
CLVT-gor (Communication, Leadership, and Virtual teams - Guild Observation Research)
The name makes me think of that old original Star Trek episode with the lizard people. I am not sure why.
(Of course, a quick jaunt to the internet and now I know why. The Gorn they were called. The picture above gets this point across. Isn't memory funny, but that's another study.)
Anyway, in this study I will be collecting data from potentially 3 guilds of varying rankings. The data will be similar to that collected in CLVT in that it will be voice, video, and surveys (where possible). This study will run for 6 months starting at beginning of October (at the release of MoP).
I go back before the IRB committee on Tuesday to get further approval for this one. The only sticking point seems to be the consent process. The guilds have upwards of 200 members each. It would be nearly impossible to get a consent from everyone. And then, what happens if you get a consent from 9 of the 10 people doing the next Raid?
So, after just a little hair pulling (my own), I reached out to one of my profs and she sourced us up an idea and a plan of action. The idea was from an expert gaming researcher who has already published books about Wow. It breaks down like this.
I hope the IRB agrees to this method, as really any other way will be a pain. Keep your fingers crossed collectively at noon on 9/18.
Data Avalanche
Next week my wonderful RA joins the team to help me start transcribing and categorizing the ample data from CLVT. She will work with me for 2 days a week to try to get this data in shape to analyze. In truth, there is not that much data to transcribe given the length of the study. The verbal data collected during Raid play consists of 2 teams attempting 9 Raids; most of the files have about 2hrs of talk. Also Vent does not support a continuous overlapping conversation. And, people in Raids probably talk about 15-20% of the time, as evidenced by the size of Vent files (Vent only records when someone says something; it's push to talk). So, as an estimate 36hrs of Raiding yields about 7hrs of transcription. For the wrapup interviews, I had (will have) 24 people. On average each spoke for a continuous 15 min. Therefore, that is 6 hours of text to transcribe. The total amount of talk to transcribe is 13hrs.
Truthfully, I hope we can have this done in 3 weeks, just as CLVT-gor starts ramping up. She can transcribe about 1hr of talk in about 20-30min. We might need to add another couple of days to the scheudle get it all done by Oct.
Sep 7, 2012 It has been 6-weeks and my CLVT study is drawing to a close. The Raids are done and I a busily funding accounts for a reverse transfer home for 24 toons.
I have loads of data to start working with! I have 6-weeks of data from these areas:
The good news is I have some excellent help. Not one, but 2 volunteers to help me transcribe, organize, code and analyze all of this data. I have some great and giving friends in this world. (*snif, I love you guys!)
We get started working on the data in a few weeks, after I grade a few papers, teach a few classes, do a little consulting, and oh yes, start a 6 month CLVT leadership study observing 2 ranked guilds. :-)
Aug 8, 2012 
I was asked to submit a blurb about my research. I thought I would re-post it here as well.
Joy Robinson examines leader roles via communication in Virtual Teams
Joy Robinson is working on her PhD in Technical Communication. Working with Karl Stolley, associate professor in the department of Tech Comm, her dissertation “Communication, Leadership, and Virtual Teams” is an experiment in how team communication can provide viable insight into the leadership roles at work inside virtual teams.
Face-to-face teaming is a natural human phenomenon; we know many things about how teams operate, how they are led, and the factors that influence team success. However in virtual teams, where communication is predominately via ICTs (email, forums, VOIP, POTS, chat, etc.), little is known about the roles leaders play that inform success in teams.
An extensive repertoire of leadership roles is the hallmark of an effective leader according to behavioral complexity theory. In the experiment - a case study of 2 virtual teams playing World of Warcraft for six weeks - Joy plans to examine how virtual teams are lead with or without an appointed leader and how effective leaders use a menu of specific roles to bring about successful teams. This work is accomplished by mapping the communication exchanges within each team to the various leader roles. Ultimately, she hopes to be able to associate specific leader roles with team performance factors.
leadership, roles, study, wow Aug 1, 2012 The study was recruited for in a number of ways.
There were 146 applicants. The majority came from the Blizz forums and Word of mouth. Of the 146 applicatns 78 or 53.4% completed the Part A survey.
The recruitment process for the study was realtively arduous. It was split into 4 parts.
At the time of this writing, there were a total of 30 people who finished all the paperwork (Part A-C) and the interview. Some people dropped out after that, 24 were accepted into the 6-week study.
The official start date for the study was July 31. I stopped taking New applicants on Aug 1.
Below is the recruting email that was used at the website, that collected responses from the forums and Word of mouth.
CLVT Research Study Starting in July
Dear Wow Enthusiast!
My name is Joy Robinson and for my PhD dissertation I am conducting a study about virtual teams in World of Warcraft. The purpose of this 6-week study is to better understand the roles leaders play in virtual teams.
The study will run for 6-weeks during the summer, starting in July. As a participant, you will be expected to play WoW about 12-15hrs a week raiding in a new team. This adds up to a total of 60-75 hrs for 6-weeks. Participants who complete the study will receive 6 month membership to continue playing Wow.
In order to qualify for the 6-week study, you must first take our Screening Questionnaire. This survey should take a about 15 minutes and all of your answers, whether or not you are accepted into the study, will be kept completely confidential.
There is a direct benefit to just completing our screening process. If you meet the criteria below and complete the questionnaire and subsequent interview, you will be provided with a certificate for 1 Amazon .mp3s (a value of ~$1), even if you do not make it into the study.
Criteria:
Below is your personalized link to the survey. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete, and you can return at any time using the same link.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/clvt_recruit_web
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Joy Robinson (wowleaderstudy@gmail.com). Again any data you provide will be kept confidential.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely,