The Library and Information Service is pleased to announce the
launch of the Research Data Management (RDM) Adventure Game. The RDM
Adventure Game is a text-based role-playing interactive fiction serious
game, based on the data management challenges of a research project.
The
game takes the form of an online choose-your-own-adventure format in
which game players take a simulated research project through the
following processes: data management planning, data
collection/generation, data organisation, data description and research
publication, while encountering data management challenges along the
way. The game was developed as part of a collaboration between the
University of Bath Library and Stellenbosch University Library and
Information Service between 2017 and 2020 by Alex Ball (University of
Bath), Samuel Simango (Stellenbosch University) and Nushrat Khan
(University of Bath). In January 2021, the Wellcome Trust's Early Career
Researchers Advisory Board endorsed the game by including it in the Wellcome Open Research early career researchers pack, recognising it as a useful tool for researchers.
Aim of the Game
The
objective of the RDM Adventure Game is to demonstrate and teach good
practice in research data management and assist researchers in
understanding good practices related to RDM. The specific learning
outcomes focus on the following aspects:
- Data management planning
- Designing participant information sheets and consent forms
- Choosing appropriate equipment for research projects
- Acquiring suitable third-party research data
- Organising research data
- Storing research data appropriately
- Analysing and documenting research data
- Preparing research data for archiving
- Publishing research data
The Audience
The
RDM Adventure Game is aimed primarily at postgraduate students as well
as early career researchers and academics. Anyone who has an interest in
understanding how RDM works on a practical level, e.g. research support
staff, could, however, also find the game helpful.
Game play
The
game takes players through different stages of the research data
lifecycle, presents them with a data management challenge and allows
them to make decisions that affect the success of their research
project. Players progress either by making straightforward binary
choices or by completing puzzle-like options. In the process certain
challenges test the effectiveness of the decisions made by the players.
The tone of the game is light-hearted to maintain its entertainment
value, despite it being a serious game.
Since
the game simulates the entire RDM lifecycle, the repercussions of
decisions researchers make can be experienced in a safe environment,
permitting them to make mistakes and hopefully learn from it without
suffering the associated real-life consequences. Game players can opt to
play the entire game or can select to only play specific stages of the
RDM lifecycle.
Find out more and play the game
The
RDM Adventure Game was launched in December 2020 at the University of
Bath. The game has been released under a Creative Commons license (CC
BY-NC-SA) and is hosted on GitLab.
If you are interested in playing the
game, click here.
For more information, please contact Samuel Simango.
Further Reading
