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.
Current Volunteering Opportunities
We have now finished recruiting for the sexuality study. However, we now 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 throughout November/December through a combination of timed and drop-in sessions. In each case, participation takes approximately 20 minutes and we compensate £5.
Please note, though you may volunteer for multiple sessions you will only be invited to participate once.
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 an 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
Your role is to act as a second 'Pretender' - you will be answering questions which a Judge has set in a previous game, trying to fool the Judge into believing that you are from their social group.
How are Imitation Games played?
The Imitation Games are played using the internet to protect your identity. Each participant 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' (you, as the person who does not belong to the social group of the judge) and which set belongs to the 'non-pretender' (the person who DOES belong to the social group of the Judge).
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data during this part of the study: your answers to the questions and the demographic information we collect after you have participated. This is used 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.
When your answers are finished your data will be allocated a participant number in order to protect your anonymity. 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 (timing is dependent upon how long you take to answer the questions). Payment will be made in cash on completion of the task.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at
[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 an 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
Your role is to act as a second 'Pretender' - you will be answering questions which a Judge has set in a previous game, trying to fool the Judge into believing that you are from their social group.
How are Imitation Games played?
The Imitation Games are played using the internet to protect your identity. Each participant 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' (you, as the person who does not belong to the social group of the judge) and which set belongs to the 'non-pretender' (the person who DOES belong to the social group of the Judge).
What sorts of data are collected?
We will collect two main kinds of data during this part of the study: your answers to the questions and the demographic information we collect after you have participated. This is used 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.
When your answers are finished your data will be allocated a participant number in order to protect your anonymity. 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 (timing is dependent upon how long you take to answer the questions). Payment will be made in cash on completion of the task.
Want to know more?
If you have any questions please ask any of the research team or email us at
[email protected]