I’m DarkPallando, Long-time D&D player, and, more recently, graduate student.  I'm currently working on my dissertation, which investigates the culture of D&D and its players. Right now, I’m looking for D&D players to interview to help expand the scholarly understanding of roleplaying games. And, hopefully, help improve the hobby with some self-reflection, and improve the scholarship by giving the academic world a better understanding of what playing D&D means to the players.

I’m looking for two types of interviewees. All participants must be over 18. My research mandate states that I can only observe and interview consenting adults.

First, I’d like to observe some game sessions – If you live within 3-4 hours drive of Bowling Green, Ohio (Google Map Link), and you’re willing to let me watch you play and take notes. I can't provide any financial compensation (although I'm happy to chip in for snacks and such.) After I’ve observed however many sessions you’re willing to let me watch, I will also want to do individual interviews to ask each player about their experience with the game.

I would like to do an audio recording of the games and individual interviews to make the process of analyzing my data easier, but if anyone is uncomfortable with that, I will happily take notes instead

Second, I’d also like to get as many individual interviews as I can, asking roughly similar questions, but about your history with D&D in general, rather than about one game in particular. The process for these is a bit simpler. Just let me know when you’ve got a good 30-45 minutes free, and we can set up a time for a conversation on skype or the instant messenger of your choice. 

Your participation is voluntary, and you can terminate it at any time, or choose not to answer any questions you wish. If you want to participate, or if you have any questions about your participation, please contact me via private message on this site, or at pjcdndresearch@gmail.com. And finally, thank you for your time!