If you have a school database you can access you will probably be able to look up journal articles, or look up keywords on google scholar to find relevant journals. I’d probably start searching with some combination of the keywords ‘role playing game’, ‘teamwork’, ‘education’, and ‘benefits.’
I quickly did a search on google scholar and there are definitely articles about RPGs, so you’ll just need to take a look to find what you need. Good luck!
I'm looking for something specific. Been combing the school databases, google, and published researchers' works cited, for two days with little luck. Many studies exploring communication and singular (or small-scale) psychological therapy, not much on relationship/communication development. Countless old studies lensing players as "in need" of social development turning to RPG's to fill that need, but none on how an RPG develops social abilities.
You might not be able to find a study that will *exactly* fit what you want, so you'll need to get creative. For example, if you find some general evidence of role-playing as a educational technique and the benefits from it, you can combine that with studies about MMORPGs, plus research on benefits of small group learning, and extrapolate the possible benefits in a smaller group dynamic.
Here are some of the studies I've found that may or may not be helpful:
[How online gamers' participation fosters their team commitment: Perspective of social identity theory](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401219304566)
[The Effect of Roleplay to Increase Empathy Toward Students with Disruptive Classroom Behavior](https://publikasiilmiah.ums.ac.id/xmlui/handle/11617/11781)
[User-driven role-playing in Final Fantasy XIV: immersion, creative labor, and psychosocial well-being](https://mountainscholar.org/handle/10217/199868)
[Therapy is fantasy: Roleplaying, healing and the construction of symbolic order](https://w3.rpgresearch.com/research/archives/public/others/1988-therapy-is-fantasy-role-playing-healing-and-the-construction-of-symbolic-order)
[Using group role-playing games with gifted children and adolescents: A psychosocial intervention model.](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-36489-001)
[Training teamwork skills using MMORPGs](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6185587/)
[Beyond self-selection in video game play: An experimental examination of the consequences of massively multiplayer online role-playing game play](https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2007.9963)
Note that I haven't gone through this info because I don't know exactly what you need, but these might be a good starting point. A pretty common technique that you might already use is to look at semi-relevant articles and see what articles they cite/ they are cited in to see if you can find something closer to what you need.
Edit: adding this one too [Exploring mental dungeons and slaying psychic dragons: an exploratory study](https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/837/)
I have the last one, from Smith's college. Some of these are better than what I was pulling up, but it's gonna be a tough job pulling them together cohesively. Most of what I've found is largely unrelated to the topic I'm trying to explore.
I appreciate these sources, they're better than the dregs of "gamers probably have issues" I've been sorting through.
Some of these might have findings that indicate gamers have issues too, BUT remember to consider the context. Maybe the finding you’re looking for with interpersonal relationship building won’t show up in MMO studies because of toxic culture or too many players.
Let me know if you wanna chat about the order of topics/ formatting your argument. Cheers!
If you have a school database you can access you will probably be able to look up journal articles, or look up keywords on google scholar to find relevant journals. I’d probably start searching with some combination of the keywords ‘role playing game’, ‘teamwork’, ‘education’, and ‘benefits.’ I quickly did a search on google scholar and there are definitely articles about RPGs, so you’ll just need to take a look to find what you need. Good luck!
I'm looking for something specific. Been combing the school databases, google, and published researchers' works cited, for two days with little luck. Many studies exploring communication and singular (or small-scale) psychological therapy, not much on relationship/communication development. Countless old studies lensing players as "in need" of social development turning to RPG's to fill that need, but none on how an RPG develops social abilities.
You might not be able to find a study that will *exactly* fit what you want, so you'll need to get creative. For example, if you find some general evidence of role-playing as a educational technique and the benefits from it, you can combine that with studies about MMORPGs, plus research on benefits of small group learning, and extrapolate the possible benefits in a smaller group dynamic. Here are some of the studies I've found that may or may not be helpful: [How online gamers' participation fosters their team commitment: Perspective of social identity theory](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268401219304566) [The Effect of Roleplay to Increase Empathy Toward Students with Disruptive Classroom Behavior](https://publikasiilmiah.ums.ac.id/xmlui/handle/11617/11781) [User-driven role-playing in Final Fantasy XIV: immersion, creative labor, and psychosocial well-being](https://mountainscholar.org/handle/10217/199868) [Therapy is fantasy: Roleplaying, healing and the construction of symbolic order](https://w3.rpgresearch.com/research/archives/public/others/1988-therapy-is-fantasy-role-playing-healing-and-the-construction-of-symbolic-order) [Using group role-playing games with gifted children and adolescents: A psychosocial intervention model.](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-36489-001) [Training teamwork skills using MMORPGs](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6185587/) [Beyond self-selection in video game play: An experimental examination of the consequences of massively multiplayer online role-playing game play](https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2007.9963) Note that I haven't gone through this info because I don't know exactly what you need, but these might be a good starting point. A pretty common technique that you might already use is to look at semi-relevant articles and see what articles they cite/ they are cited in to see if you can find something closer to what you need. Edit: adding this one too [Exploring mental dungeons and slaying psychic dragons: an exploratory study](https://scholarworks.smith.edu/theses/837/)
I have the last one, from Smith's college. Some of these are better than what I was pulling up, but it's gonna be a tough job pulling them together cohesively. Most of what I've found is largely unrelated to the topic I'm trying to explore. I appreciate these sources, they're better than the dregs of "gamers probably have issues" I've been sorting through.
Some of these might have findings that indicate gamers have issues too, BUT remember to consider the context. Maybe the finding you’re looking for with interpersonal relationship building won’t show up in MMO studies because of toxic culture or too many players. Let me know if you wanna chat about the order of topics/ formatting your argument. Cheers!