Role-Playing Game Research

This page helps to provide role-playing games research (RPG research) in the language appropriate to various backgrounds to help you find the role-playing game research information you are looking for.

If you are a layperson such as a role-playing gamer, a parent/guardian of a gamer,, an educator, or healthcare professional, you may want to try the relevant pages that explain this site and projects more in your terminology.

NOTE: Any links to the organization RPG Research's research archives might not be currently accessible to the public due to recent insurance requirements.

Historically, for decades, our research archives have been 100% free and open to the public (to the extent permitted by copyright and privacy laws). We are doing all we can to get the added insurance necessary to allow us to re-open our research archives to the public. This requires substantial donations because the insurance companies consider this a high risk function.

Our research repository contains more than 10,000 content items on the effects of role-playing games, including thousands of items not available anywhere else in the world (such as the Paul Cardwell collection donated to RPG Research by the Paul Cardwell Estate, his widow Gladys Cardwell).

YOUR DONATION MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR ABILITY TO AFFORD THE ANNUAL INSURANCE REQUIRED TO ENABLE US TO RE-OPEN THE WORLD'S LARGEST FREE AND OPEN RESEARCH REPOSITORY ON THE EFFECTS OF ROLE-PLAYING GAMES TO THE PUBLIC.

A Few Example Papers

  • Serious Games as a Complementary Tool for Social Skill Development in Young People: A Systematic Review of the Literature
  • An Overview History and Therapeutic Value of Role Playing Gaming
  • The Battle Over Role Playing Gaming (Other Minds Magazine Issue 1)
  • The Potential Benefits and Deficits of Role Playing Gaming
  • Role Playing Games Used as Educational and Therapeutic Tools for Children, Youth, and Adults
  • The Defamation of Role Playing Gaming and Gamers
  • Analysis of Personalities and Alienation of Dungeons and Dragons Game Players
  • How To Use Knowledge of Role-Playing Game Play Styles to Optimize The RPG Experience Beware current popularity of play style segregation leading to increased "Balkanization"
  • Improving Access to Tabletop Role-Playing Games by Overcoming High Barriers to Introductory Play
  • Overview List of the Pros and Cons of Each Role-Playing Game Format
  • Observations on the Current State of RPG Professionalism: An Immature but Growing Profession
  • RPG Professional Training Workbook Level 1
  • Role-Playing Gaming Recreation Therapy Handbook of Practice
  • Role-Playing Game (RPG) Interaction Patterns Summary Diagrams Based on Avedon (1974) Interaction Patterns
  • Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Change, Therapeutic Recreation and Role-Playing Games
  • Using Role-Playing Games to Enhance the Learning Process, from the Cognitive Neuropsychology Perspective
  • Role-Playing Games (RPG) as Intervention Modalities to Achieve Therapeutic & Educational Goals for Individuals and Groups from the Therapeutic Recreation Perspective.
  • Pacific Northwest American Therapeutic Recreation Association Using Therapeutic Recreation and Role-Playing Games as IEP for ADHD in Schools
  • The Therapeutic and Educational Uses of Role-Playing Games (RPG) as Intervention Modalities for Individuals and Groups from the Therapeutic Recreation Perspective
  • Use of Role-Playing Games (RPG) in All Formats (Tabletop, Live-Action (LARP), Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA), and Computer-based) in the Treatment of Brain Injury.
  • Role-playing Games Used as Educational and Therapeutic Tools for Youth and Adults
  • Other Pages of Note

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Research Archives
  • Impact statement
  • RPG Museum
  • RPG Theory
  • RPG model
  • Example RPG Research Results
  • List of Potential Role-Playing Game Benefits
  • In The Media
  • RPG Research in the media
  • Transmedia studies on role-playing games
  • Role-Playing Game Research Sorted by Professional Discipline or Knowledge Domain

    We are still working on tagging the vast database of content, so these lists are far from complete, but we're working on it as quickly as possible. Please consider joining as a volunteer to help speed up this process. Many disciplines included, based on article tags.

    Educator Cognitive Neuropsychology Healthcare professional Therapeutic Recreation / Recreation Therapy Psychology Psychiatry Sociology Neurosciences (imaging, feedback, EEG, black-box reverse engineering, etc.) Recreation / Leisure Professionals Therapeutic Recreation / Recreational Therapy Business professionals / Executives Legal professionals Marketing / public relations professionals Entertainment professionals Laypersons Others

    Role-Playing Game Research Sorted by Professional Discipline or Knowledge Domain

    We are still working on tagging the vast database of content, so these lists are far from complete, but we're working on it as quickly as po

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    Educator

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    Cognitive Neuropsychology

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    Healthcare professional

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    Therapeutic Recreation / Recreation Therapy

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    Psychology

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    Psychiatry

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    Sociology

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    Neurosciences (imaging, feedback, EEG, black-box reverse engineering, etc.)

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    Recreation / Leisure Professionals

    Role-Playing Game Research Sorted by Professional Discipline or Knowledge Domain

    We are still working on tagging the vast database of content, so these lists are far from complete, but we're working on it as quickly as po

    Therapeutic Recreation / Recreational Therapy https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/recreational-therapy

    https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/business-professionals

    https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/legal-professionals

    https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/marketing-professionals

    https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/entertaniment-professionals

    https://www2.rpgresearch.com/documents/primary/list/sorted-by-discipline/laypersons

    Others

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