Video game classification in Australia: Does it enable
parents to make informed game choices for their children?
Plain Language Information Statement
Project Title:
Video game classification in Australia: Does it enable parents
to make informed game choices for their children?
Principal Researcher:
Dr Charlynn Miller
Other/student researchers:
Dr Peter Vamplew
Julie Ross, PhD student
School:
Science, Information Technology and Engineering
You are invited to participate in this study which explores issues surrounding using
classification information to choose video games for your children. This document provides
information about this research so that you can make an informed decision to participate.
The aim of this project is to explore issues parents and guardians may face when using the
Australian game classification system to make game choices for their children. The results
from this study will provide a deeper understanding of the role of games classification in
Australia for parents and guardians, as well exploring how game choices are made.
Understanding these issues will help guide resources and education that can support
parents and guardians when choosing video games for their children.
Participation
What will be expected of you?
If you choose to participate in this research you will be asked to complete a web-based
questionnaire which asks about how you choose video games for your children, as well as
some general information such as your age group and education level. You are not required
to answer each of these questions, and may choose the 'Prefer not to answer' option for
questions of a personal nature (such as age, income etc). You will also be asked to review
information about several video games. It is anticipated that the questionnaire will take
about 20 minutes to complete.
Your participation in this research is appreciated, with the understanding that any
participation is voluntary. If you choose to participate, this will be considered as consent.
Please note that it will not be possible to withdraw your consent after you have started the
questionnaire as the data collected is non-identifiable.
Exploring shared game decisions
If you state that you share decisions about video game usage in your family with a partner
or other parent/guardian, we would also like to encourage this person to participate in this
research as this will provide more understanding about how game choices are made in
families. To provide relevance, if they choose to participate, only the children for which this
person shares game decisions will show on their questionnaire. This person will not be able
to see any responses that you provide. At the end of the questionnaire you will be given a
code to give to this person and they can enter it when they complete the questionnaire,
linking the resultant data with yours. To make this process easier, you will also be given the
option of having the code embedded in a link and sent to an email address of your choice.
This email address will not be stored and is only used to send the requested email.
Follow-up interviews
At the conclusion of this questionnaire, we would like to be able to conduct follow-up
interviews with some parents and guardians. This would take the form of a telephone call or
an email. If you would like to participate in a follow-up interview, you will be asked to
provide an email address with which we can contact you. This email address will be stored
with the questionnaire information that you submit, and will be removed when it is no
longer required.
Save and resume later
You may choose to resume the questionnaire at a later date by having a link to your saved
questionnaire emailed to you. You will be asked to provide an email address to allow this
link to be sent, and when clicked this link will take you back to the same page that you were
last completing. Your email address will not be stored, it will only be used to send the
resume link.
Confidentiality
The questionnaire will not ask for any information which may personally identify you, with
the exception of an email address that you may provide to allow us to contact you about
participating in a follow-up interview. Some comments that you provide during the
questionnaire may be used in reports to provide depth to the results but cannot personally
identify you.
How the information will be used
The information you provide during the questionnaire will be used collectively for analytical
purposes, and may be included in publications arising from this research. The information
will be stored in an online database which is secured by a password and will only be
accessed by the researchers. Data will not be distributed to any persons in a raw form, and
will only be presented after manipulation to suit research objectives. The data will be stored
for the required 5 years, after which time it will be destroyed.
Discomforts/risks of participating
There are no apparent risks involved with participating in this study; however, some may
find the content within the questionnaire to be offensive. This content is seen when
reviewing information about games, and consists of detailed descriptions about the game
content including strong language, violence and sexual content. Descriptions of language
has most of the letters replaced with asterisks, such as ‘F**k’. There are descriptions of acts
of violence that the player may view or participate in, such as shooting, physical combat,
and description of blood and gore. Description of sexual content may include the state of
undress of game characters, and interactions between game characters that are considered
to be of a sexual nature. If you find this content to be upsetting, there are some links to
resources which you may find helpful both at the bottom of this page and repeated at the
end of this questionnaire.
Results of the study
If you wish to view any results from this study you will have the option of providing a
contact email address at the end of the questionnaire. This email address is separate from
any email address you may provide for follow-up interviews, and will not be stored with the
information you provide for the questionnaire. After this research is finished, you will be
sent a copy of the results in a format that has been disseminated and presented for
distribution. While the researchers will make every effort to distribute the results to those
who register their interest, they will not be obliged to do so and can offer no guarantee that
this will happen.
Research affiliations
This research is being conducted as part of PhD studies, and is not aligned with any funding
body or sponsor.
The research will be performed under the supervision of Dr. Charlynn Miller, Senior
Lecturer, and Dr. Peter Vamplew, Senior Lecturer. The student researcher holds both a
Bachelor of IT and a Bacherlor of Computing (Honours).
Links to external resources
Beyond Blue: the national depression initiative - www.beyondblue.org.au
Lifeline Australia - www.lifeline.org.au - 13 11 14
Community Health - www.health.vic.gov.au/pch
Australian Classification Board - www.classification.gov.au
Parentline - statewide telephone counselling service - 13 22 89