Welcome to the recruitment page for the Imitation Game research study
The Imitation Game is a new research method developed at Cardiff University that can be used to compare societies across space and time. It is, as far as we know, the first significant quantitative innovation for collecting information about societies and social groups since the social survey. Unusually, it combines quantitative measures with the collection of qualitative data. The method is quasi-experimental but is inspired by sociological questions and methods rather than the more traditional experimental concerns of randomisation, control groups and intervention. For more information on the study, please
click here.
Who can participate in the study?
We are currently running an Imitation Game on the topic of 'gender' and we require large numbers of female volunteers to read, 'judge', and comment on a series of transcripts produced during Imitation Games. For details of how these transcripts are produced and further information on the judging process, please see the below section, "Understanding Social Life".
There are only three requirements for participants: first, you must be female student at one of the Cardiff-based universities (Cardiff University/University of South Wales/Cardiff Metropolitan University) and second, you must have lived in the UK since the age of 13.
How to volunteer:
Female Participants:
For this type of participation the task and instructions will be emailed to you by the researcher
There is no need for you to attend a university computer lab; the task can be completed at home. Once you have completed the task, a researcher will evaluate your participation to ensure that the task was completed correctly, and will contact you to arrange payment. There is a payment of £10 for this stage of the study and this can be made through your choice of either Amazon gift voucher OR Paypal cash transfer (active Paypal account required).
Please read the information below to ensure that you understand the task for which you are volunteering; it explains what is expected of participants in both group and individual sessions. If you are still happy to participate then please proceed to our
recruitment survey
where you will be asked a few eligibility and demographic questions, and sign up for the task.
Understanding Social Life - Questions about the study
A Gender Imitation Game
What is the research about?
Cardiff University social scientists are developing a new research method called the Imitation Game. The method is used to investigate what different social groups know about each other. The research is funded by the European Research Council and has involved thousands of participants from across Europe. The aim of this research is to test the Imitation Game method, train a new cohort of researchers and lay the foundation for new approach to comparative research.
What do you have to do?
We have run a number of Imitation Game studies on the topic of 'gender' where we seek to measure how well men are able to pretend to be women. Each Imitation Game involved three different people who were kept anonymous whilst each playing one of these three different roles:
- A female Judge, who set questions for the other two players and tries to work out which answers belong to each person.
- A male Pretender, who must pretend they are female when answering the Judge's questions and try to convince the Judge that they genuinely share their gender.
- A female Non-Pretender, who answers the Judge's questions naturally and truthfully, as themselves.
The judges in these Imitation Games received the answers to their questions simultaneously (regardless of how long each respondent took to answer) and could reflect on these answers before asking their next question. Respondents were not allowed to use the internet during the study. In a variation of the method, for some of the live games each role was played by a group of three participants producing collaborative answers based on their real experiences, however the transcripts from these games appear identically to those produced by lone participants and there is no way of distinguishing them from each other.
If you take part in the research you will be asked to play the role of the Judge on sets of questions and answers that have already been produced. This means that you will not be setting the questions yourself but will be looking at two sets of answers given to questions asked by a judge during a live game, one set from a male pretender, one from a female non-pretender, and deciding which set belongs to each person. You will then be asked to give reasons for your decision to help us analyse the data.
How does this work in practice?
Once you have completed the recruitment survey and have been accepted onto the study, you will be emailed a further survey link which will present you with a series of Imitation Game transcripts, along with a set of detailed instructions. After reading the instructions, it is your job to read the transcripts and, in each case, decide which set of answers was given by a man pretending to be a woman: the pretender. You record your judgement on the transcripts, your confidence in your decision, and give reasons for your choice, then once you have submitted your survey results and we have confirmed correct completion you will be contacted regarding your £10 compensatory payment. Participation tends to take between 45-75 minutes, depending on your reading speed and how much detail you give in your reasons.
What can I expect from the transcripts?
All the data included in the transcripts is participant-generated; as researchers we do not control, make requests of, or censor participants as they play Imitation Games. Although we do ask them not to be deliberately offensive, we do not edit out questions or answers from 'live' games which seem to be offensive unless a participant reports them as such (which they are asked to do). We do this to escape a common critique of survey methods: the fact that social researchers are usually the ones deciding what about a topic of research is important or appropriate, sometimes when they have no real life experience of the things they are researching.
A side-effect of this is that Imitation Game transcripts frequently feature explicit or sexually graphic language, or other material which the reader may find offensive. Gender games frequently discuss sexual acts, the sexual body, sanitary habits, menstruation, and other related topics. They may also feature controversial political views, such as sexism, which in other contexts may upset or anger. Please note that none of the opinions expressed within the study are necessarily shared or endorsed by the researchers or Cardiff University and their inclusion should not imply acceptability but should be viewed as a part of the subjects we are researching; indeed, a key aim of the research is to promote understanding and tolerance of other social groups. If you are uncomfortable engaging with such material then you should not volunteer for the study. If you have any concerns or questions regarding this before, during, or after participation please let us know.
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data in this part of the study. The first comes from judgements of the Imitation Games. We record how the judge evaluates the answers, their guesses about who is who and how confident they are about these guesses
The second sort of data is the demographic information we collected when you register for the research. This is used to make sure you are eligible to take part in the research and to analyse the Imitation Game results. For example, it would be interesting to know if there are any social groups who are especially good or bad at pretending.
Who will know you have taken part?
The only people who will know you have taken part will be the members of the research team and, for group participants, the other people in the room with you.
When your Imitation Games are finished your data will be given a unique participant number. This number will then be used in all the presentations, publications and datasets that come out of the project. We will also take care to ensure that any published extracts from individual Imitation Games do not include material that could be used to identify individual participants.
Is participation voluntary?
Yes. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time you wish. However, if you withdraw we reserve the right to include any information that you have given up to that point.
Are participants paid?
Yes, participants are paid £10 via PayPal transfer or Amazon voucher.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at:
[email protected]
Cardiff University social scientists are developing a new research method called the Imitation Game. The method is used to investigate what different social groups know about each other. The research is funded by the European Research Council and has involved thousands of participants from across Europe. The aim of this research is to test the Imitation Game method, train a new cohort of researchers and lay the foundation for new approach to comparative research.
What do you have to do?
We have run a number of Imitation Game studies on the topic of 'gender' where we seek to measure how well men are able to pretend to be women. Each Imitation Game involved three different people who were kept anonymous whilst each playing one of these three different roles:
- A female Judge, who set questions for the other two players and tries to work out which answers belong to each person.
- A male Pretender, who must pretend they are female when answering the Judge's questions and try to convince the Judge that they genuinely share their gender.
- A female Non-Pretender, who answers the Judge's questions naturally and truthfully, as themselves.
The judges in these Imitation Games received the answers to their questions simultaneously (regardless of how long each respondent took to answer) and could reflect on these answers before asking their next question. Respondents were not allowed to use the internet during the study. In a variation of the method, for some of the live games each role was played by a group of three participants producing collaborative answers based on their real experiences, however the transcripts from these games appear identically to those produced by lone participants and there is no way of distinguishing them from each other.
If you take part in the research you will be asked to play the role of the Judge on sets of questions and answers that have already been produced. This means that you will not be setting the questions yourself but will be looking at two sets of answers given to questions asked by a judge during a live game, one set from a male pretender, one from a female non-pretender, and deciding which set belongs to each person. You will then be asked to give reasons for your decision to help us analyse the data.
How does this work in practice?
Once you have completed the recruitment survey and have been accepted onto the study, you will be emailed a further survey link which will present you with a series of Imitation Game transcripts, along with a set of detailed instructions. After reading the instructions, it is your job to read the transcripts and, in each case, decide which set of answers was given by a man pretending to be a woman: the pretender. You record your judgement on the transcripts, your confidence in your decision, and give reasons for your choice, then once you have submitted your survey results and we have confirmed correct completion you will be contacted regarding your £10 compensatory payment. Participation tends to take between 45-75 minutes, depending on your reading speed and how much detail you give in your reasons.
What can I expect from the transcripts?
All the data included in the transcripts is participant-generated; as researchers we do not control, make requests of, or censor participants as they play Imitation Games. Although we do ask them not to be deliberately offensive, we do not edit out questions or answers from 'live' games which seem to be offensive unless a participant reports them as such (which they are asked to do). We do this to escape a common critique of survey methods: the fact that social researchers are usually the ones deciding what about a topic of research is important or appropriate, sometimes when they have no real life experience of the things they are researching.
A side-effect of this is that Imitation Game transcripts frequently feature explicit or sexually graphic language, or other material which the reader may find offensive. Gender games frequently discuss sexual acts, the sexual body, sanitary habits, menstruation, and other related topics. They may also feature controversial political views, such as sexism, which in other contexts may upset or anger. Please note that none of the opinions expressed within the study are necessarily shared or endorsed by the researchers or Cardiff University and their inclusion should not imply acceptability but should be viewed as a part of the subjects we are researching; indeed, a key aim of the research is to promote understanding and tolerance of other social groups. If you are uncomfortable engaging with such material then you should not volunteer for the study. If you have any concerns or questions regarding this before, during, or after participation please let us know.
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data in this part of the study. The first comes from judgements of the Imitation Games. We record how the judge evaluates the answers, their guesses about who is who and how confident they are about these guesses
The second sort of data is the demographic information we collected when you register for the research. This is used to make sure you are eligible to take part in the research and to analyse the Imitation Game results. For example, it would be interesting to know if there are any social groups who are especially good or bad at pretending.
Who will know you have taken part?
The only people who will know you have taken part will be the members of the research team and, for group participants, the other people in the room with you.
When your Imitation Games are finished your data will be given a unique participant number. This number will then be used in all the presentations, publications and datasets that come out of the project. We will also take care to ensure that any published extracts from individual Imitation Games do not include material that could be used to identify individual participants.
Is participation voluntary?
Yes. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time you wish. However, if you withdraw we reserve the right to include any information that you have given up to that point.
Are participants paid?
Yes, participants are paid £10 via PayPal transfer or Amazon voucher.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at:
[email protected]