Studies

This page provides some details for data-driven research. Of the 132 empirical papers, there were 142 studies in total.

Use the tables to search for papers according to their research or data type, variables or outcomes studied, or the current country of residence for their participants.

Empirical papers

All empirical papers included in our map.

7 (24.1%) quantitative or mixed-data studies reported any justification for their sample size.

4 (8.7%) player-focused studied included a control group - all were non-players.

9 (19.6%) included pre/post-test measures.

3 (6.5%) conducted any follow-up tests.

Data types

Number of studies that collected exclusively qualitative or quantitative data, or both (mixed).

Research types

Number of studies per research type. ‘Experimental’ research requires pre/post-test measures as well as a treatment and control group; ‘quasi-experimental’ studies include pre/post-test measures but do not require a control group; ‘non-experimental’ covers all other study designs.

Variables and outcomes studied

Number of empirical papers that measure each type of variable or outcome, broken down by research types.

Participants map

Regarding sample types, video games were most common (n=74, 52.1%). Players were next (n=48, 32.4%), followed by online content from social media, paratexts, and livestreams (n=10, 7.0%), and 10 (7.0%) studies that targeted individuals who work with or for game studios (e.g., developers, academics, campaign organisers).

Where specified for player-focused work, their current country of residence was reported for 31 (67.4%) studies and showed similar geographic bias as lead authorship, where European and/or North American players were represented in more studies (n=31, 62.0%) than other players.

This map shows the countries of residence for any participants included in studies, if reported. Click on a country to filter the table below.