ABSTRACT
Introduction The rise in the use of technology for learning has resulted in increasing interest in the impact of the use of immersive spaces on staff and students in higher education. Further, research into immersive worlds is still relatively new. The impact of learning in such worlds in terms of students’ conceptions of reality, their relationship between in-world and real-world behaviour and issues of representation, embodiment and immersion bear further research. This chapter draws on projects and studies that have used different research approaches in immersive spaces such as Second Life™, and a further project that evaluated the use of problembased learning in immersive virtual worlds (IVWs). The chapter outlines research approaches that have worked well in such spaces, such as narrative inquiry and participatory action research (PAR). It also illustrates other approaches that have proved effective.
