Episode 19: Boom, Headshot!

It’s not often there’s breaking news in the world of academic articles on gaming, but a potential retraction of an article is worth talking about. A 2014 study called “Boom, Headshot! Effect of Video Game Play and Controller Type on Firing Aim and Accuracy” concluded that playing games with a gun-shaped controller, even briefly, will make the player much more accurate at shooting a real gun. That study went on to be cited in policy documents and the news , but there’s just one problem: some of the data may have been falsified or manipulated. What does this mean for academic gaming research? Can or should we trust a single published study? Show Notes & Links Boom, Headshot! Effect of Video Game Play and Controller Type on Firing Aim and Accuracy , by Brad Bushman & Jodi Whitaker, 2014, Communication Research Dispute over shooter video games may kill recent paper (Retraction Watch) Analyses of Miscoded Data , a timeline of the investigation into the article’s data Origins of the “Boom, Headshot” meme Andrew Przybylski on Twitter Do violent video games play a role in shootings? (CNN) APA’s Resolution on Violent Video Games More details on replication rates of academic studies Other games mentioned in this episode: Mario Kart 8 Duck Hunt Resident Evil 4 Wii Play Super Mario Galaxy Halo Super Scope Pong Asteroids

You can listen to Episode 19: Boom, Headshot! online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 19: Boom, Headshot! is an episode from Unlocking Games by Chad Haefele & Brandon Carper.

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This episode was published on Dec 23, 2016.

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