How do veterans in mental health treatment use video games to improve their social and psychological well-being?

Methods

Summary

To gather the perceptions and experiences of veteran game players, we will be utilizing open-ended, semi-structured interviews. Interviews are expected to last between an hour to an hour and a half. Data collection is expected to take two months.

Our data collection involves only a single interview occurring at one point in time. Our semi-structured interview protocol is designed to elucidate the themes related to our primary aims: (1) To assess veterans’ subjective experiences associated with video game play with respect to their mental and behavioral health disorders and social functioning and (2) To assess factors associated with beneficial and maladaptive uses of video games by veterans.

Challenges

Veterans typically spend a lot of time answering questions and filling out questionnaires, which can lessen the appeal of sitting down for yet another interview. However, we hope that talking about the novel subject of study, video games, will be interesting to veterans who play games.

Pre Analysis Plan

Throughout the process, the interviews will be transcribed in order to decide when saturation has been reached and interviews are no longer needed. Our use of a qualitative approach means that we will not know ahead of time the exact number of participants we will need to reach our desired results. Research on sample size in qualitative studies reveals that sample sizes of 15 are often considered adequate. We may interview as few as 10 individuals, but will not interview more than 30 before we reach saturation and a convergence of themes. At this point, all transcripts will be imported into nVivo software and an analysis database created.

Working with the same random sample of three transcripts, we will each read the transcripts multiple times, summarize transcripts, and discuss important themes. From this process, each analyst will develop preliminary codes, using notes and memos where needed to document ideas and decisions as well as hierarchical structure and relationships between codes, and create a preliminary codebook. We will then code an additional sample of two transcripts individually and compare application of codes to refine preliminary codebooks, adding additional codes that emerge from discussion of patterns and themes.

When all transcripts are coded, patterns and themes will be compared across types of participants (e.g., those with the same or different diagnoses or type of military service) and within each participant’s interview. A grounded theory approach will be taken when analyzing the thematic content. The analysts discussed these patterns and themes and selected quotes that best described the themes and concepts that emerged from this analysis.