Today’s class has two primary objectives. First we will discuss the McGonigal reading. I think McGonigal opens interesting pathways into (re)thinking the value of games. Then we will move into the research project that I introduced in our last class.
There is a short quiz on McGonigal on Canvas. Then we will spend 30 minutes or so addressing the reading. I will ask each of you to point us toward two sentences worthy of discussion and consideration. We will finish this discussion with a write-up* (these write-ups will be part of the research project).
Research Resources
First, a list of academic game journals you should consult:
- Game Studies
- Game and Culture
- Journal of Games Criticism
- Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture
- Journal of Game Design and Development Education
- International Journal of Game-Based Learning (IJGBL)
- Computers and Education
- New Media and Society
While not peer-reviewed, one article from the following sources can count for 15 pages toward your research total. You can ask me to approve additional pages.
Once you have discovered a useful article, do two things.
- First, look at the works cited or references list. Identify a few sources worthy of checking.
- Second, put the title of the article into Google Scholar.
You can collect sources from outside of this list, however I will be insistent that your 180 pages* of research come from peer-reviewed* sources. Your research project can (and probably should) involve non-peer reviewed sources, but those won’t count toward your 180 page requirement.
Note that not all of these resources will provide full text access for free. But, chances are, you can get full text access if you go to the journal via the USF library. Ask me how to do this if you don’t know how to access a journal via the library website.
Homework
There’s two things I would like you to do for homework. First, I would ask you to produce a 200-250 word proposal that outlines your research project. This proposal needs to address: 1) what you want to study and why and 2) what you have already looked at–what sources you have already read and which other sources you would begin reading. You don’t need to have a complete sense of the 180 pages you will read for your project, but you should at least have a sense of what the first 60 or so will be (so, say, the nest three sources you will consult).
As you are looking at sources and preparing to write your proposal, please start a google doc for keeping track of your research. Share this document with me (insignificantwrangler at gmail dot com). This should be a place where you keep track of what you have read.
Obviously, I hope the links and cursory examinations we conducted in class today help you achieve the second objective. But you should spend some more time following up.
