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.
How to volunteer for the study
We need HUNDREDS of male and female students to participate in a gender Imitation Game study! Participants must have lived in the UK since the age of 13 to be eligible and all participants must bring valid student ID cards to receive payment.
We are running participant sessions in February 2015 through a combination of timed and drop-in sessions, and remote tasks. In each case, participation takes between 20 and 75 minutes minutes and we compensate between £5 and £10, dependent on the task.
Please note, though you may volunteer for multiple sessions you will only be invited to participate once. If you participated in November or December last year, you may not participate again in this session.
Please read the information below and if you are willing to participate please complete the recruitment survey available here. During the survey you will see details of the currently available sessions and indicate which ones you would be willing to participate in. A researcher will then contact you to invite you to a session based on your availability.
Understanding Social Life - Questions about the study
A Gender Imitation Game
What is the research about?
We are developing a new research method called the Imitation Game. The method will be used to investigate what different social groups know about each other. The research is funded by the European Research Council and involves participants from across Europe. The aim of the 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?
In order to test and develop the Imitation Game we need to use it. At the stage of the study for which you are volunteering, you will be providing answers to questions produced in a GENDER Imitation Game which has already taken place. Each Imitation Game involves three different people who will one of these three different roles:
- A Judge, who sets questions and tries to work out which set of answers comes from which of the other two participants
- A participant known as the Pretender, who is from a different social group to the Judge, but who must pretend they belong to the same social group when answering the questions
- A participant known as the Non-Pretender, who is from the same social group as the Judge and who answers these questions ‘naturally’, i.e. without pretending to be anyone else
In this study, we require women to take the roles of Judges and Non-Pretenders, and men to take the role of Pretender. This means that your task will differ depending on your gender.
If you are FEMALE: Your role will be to answer questions previously set by a female Judge as a Non-Pretender. That is, you answer questions naturally and truthfully, as yourself. If you participate in an individual session, you would be answering these questions alone, and if you participate in a group session you and two other women will work together to provide collaborative answers.
If you are MALE: Your role will be to answer questions previously set by a female Judge as a Pretender. That is, you answer questions as you believe a woman would answer, trying your best to convince the female Judge that you are also genuinely female. If you participate in an individual session, you would be answering these questions alone, and if you participate in a group session you and two other men will work together to provide collaborative answers.
How are Imitation Games played?
The Imitation Games are played using the internet to protect the identity of participants. Each participant/group has their own computer and questions and answers are completed using our software. This then produces a transcript formed of a series of questions with two sets of answers (of which your answers will form one set), and later on a Judge will decide as to which set of answers belongs to the Pretender and which set belongs to the Non-Pretender.
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data. The first comes from the Imitation Games. We record the questions set by the Judge and the answers provided. We also record how the Judge evaluates these 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 collect in the form of a short survey after you have participated. 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 the people who are in the room with you. If you participate in a group session, please be aware that you will need to discuss your personal experiences and views with the other members of your group (though you are under no obligation to reveal information about yourself that you would rather hide).
When your answers 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. You will be paid £5 for approximately 20 minutes of your time. Exact timing is dependent upon how long you take to answer the questions. Payment will be made in cash on completion of the study.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at
o[email protected]
We are developing a new research method called the Imitation Game. The method will be used to investigate what different social groups know about each other. The research is funded by the European Research Council and involves participants from across Europe. The aim of the 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?
In order to test and develop the Imitation Game we need to use it. At the stage of the study for which you are volunteering, you will be providing answers to questions produced in a GENDER Imitation Game which has already taken place. Each Imitation Game involves three different people who will one of these three different roles:
- A Judge, who sets questions and tries to work out which set of answers comes from which of the other two participants
- A participant known as the Pretender, who is from a different social group to the Judge, but who must pretend they belong to the same social group when answering the questions
- A participant known as the Non-Pretender, who is from the same social group as the Judge and who answers these questions ‘naturally’, i.e. without pretending to be anyone else
In this study, we require women to take the roles of Judges and Non-Pretenders, and men to take the role of Pretender. This means that your task will differ depending on your gender.
If you are FEMALE: Your role will be to answer questions previously set by a female Judge as a Non-Pretender. That is, you answer questions naturally and truthfully, as yourself. If you participate in an individual session, you would be answering these questions alone, and if you participate in a group session you and two other women will work together to provide collaborative answers.
If you are MALE: Your role will be to answer questions previously set by a female Judge as a Pretender. That is, you answer questions as you believe a woman would answer, trying your best to convince the female Judge that you are also genuinely female. If you participate in an individual session, you would be answering these questions alone, and if you participate in a group session you and two other men will work together to provide collaborative answers.
How are Imitation Games played?
The Imitation Games are played using the internet to protect the identity of participants. Each participant/group has their own computer and questions and answers are completed using our software. This then produces a transcript formed of a series of questions with two sets of answers (of which your answers will form one set), and later on a Judge will decide as to which set of answers belongs to the Pretender and which set belongs to the Non-Pretender.
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data. The first comes from the Imitation Games. We record the questions set by the Judge and the answers provided. We also record how the Judge evaluates these 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 collect in the form of a short survey after you have participated. 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 the people who are in the room with you. If you participate in a group session, please be aware that you will need to discuss your personal experiences and views with the other members of your group (though you are under no obligation to reveal information about yourself that you would rather hide).
When your answers 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. You will be paid £5 for approximately 20 minutes of your time. Exact timing is dependent upon how long you take to answer the questions. Payment will be made in cash on completion of the study.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at
o[email protected]