Study title

The survey studied the time use of the players of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW), and the social dimension of the gaming community. The data were collected for a Master's thesis. The respondents were first asked how many hours per day they played WoW or other similar games, how many hours they spent on active gaming sessions (raids etc.), on how many days per week they played, how long they had played WoW or other MMORPGs, and how long they had been a member of their guild (in-game association of player characters). The respondents were also asked whether they played WoW or other MMORPGs mostly as a single player or with other players, what their reasons for playing MMORPGs were, and why they thought other people played them. With regard to the social dimension of WoW and MMORPGs, the respondents were presented a number of statements charting, among others, the significance of friends and relationships "in game", the possibility of in-game relationships developing into real-life relationships, teamwork and related skills, and opinions on the rules and activities of the guild. Finally, the respondents were asked about their opinions on their gaming hobby as well as their views of MMORPGs and gaming communities from a general and the society's point of view. Background variables included the respondent's age and gender.