Digital Participation and Community Knowledge: Supporting International Research on Games and Online Investigation

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Description of Research Project

This research assistantship supports two interconnected international projects examining how online communities create knowledge, develop expertise, and establish ethical practices. The first project, in partnership with the University of Konstanz’s GameLab, studies how games function as research laboratories for analyzing cooperation, trust-building, and decision-making. The second project, in partnership with a German Emmy Noether Programme research group, examines web sleuthing communities who collectively investigate missing persons cases and unsolved crimes. Both projects share core research questions about participatory digital cultures, amateur expertise, information verification, and ethical community governance—issues with urgent implications for platform governance, digital citizenship, and Canadian policy debates (including Bill C-63 on online harms).

These partnerships position York as a Canadian hub within European research networks, creating opportunities for students to contribute to globally significant scholarship. The research assistant will support foundational research activities across both projects, gaining exposure to diverse methodological approaches (games-based research methods, online ethnography, comparative policy analysis) while contributing to open-access publications and policy-relevant resources that inform platform governance debates in Canada and internationally.

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Undergraduate Student Responsibilities

The research assistant will support both projects through complementary research activities:

Literature Review and Research Synthesis:

- Conduct literature searches across multiple disciplines (game studies, writing studies, criminology, digital humanities, platform governance, information science)
- Organize and summarize scholarly articles, policy reports, and legal documents relevant to both projects
- Create annotated bibliographies and literature review matrices that identify connections between games research and online investigation research
- Track emerging scholarship and policy developments in platform governance, digital ethics, and participatory research methods

Public Data Collection and Organization:

- Systematically collect publicly available data from online gaming communities and web sleuthing communities, following approved research ethics protocols
- Document community guidelines, rules, verification practices, and ethical frameworks across different platforms

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Qualifications Required

• Enrolled undergraduate student in good academic standing in the Professional Writing program at York University
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks
• Ethical maturity and ability to work with sensitive topics appropriately
• Enthusiasm for international research collaboration

Preferred:

• Interest in or experience with gaming communities and/or online communities
• Coursework in digital media, game studies, writing, or social research methods
• Familiarity with qualitative research approaches or literature review methods