Sam Di Nicola (They/She)

Level 7 Programme Lead at @collegeesports_

I do not use this profile, please do not message here. Reach out on other socials.

[Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports @egaming_esports]

| #ESPORTS #FORTHCOMING #RESEARCH | Congrats to @Sam_Di_Nicola, Connaire Delaney McNulty, Andrea Marchesi, @BuoiteStellaA, and Craig McNulty on the acceptance of "Esports pre-participation screening tool: An investigation of the health of esports players" in JEGE

#gaminghabits

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas @KM_SportPsych @l_swettenham @LyraNeedsPhD @LJMUSportSci It's not like participants owe you anything. If you want to do research appropriately, which might require inclusion of different genders, it's really your duty to recruit them.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas As it currently is. As I mentioned a few times already, esports and competitive gaming are basically used interchangeably in literature right now. You might disagree, but this is the current situation.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas That's such a bad take on the position. If men are making esports an unwelcoming environment, it is up to everyone to make it better.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Again, we disagree on the definition. It's ok, there are many definitions and your one does not match mine.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas I have done research on the physiological effects of menstrual cycle on performance, for which I reviews the last 50 years of literature. Researchers avoid women, that's the reality. There are articles and books about the reasons. They are accessible, but they are avoided.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Yes, but it's a bit more complex that what you are describing. You might need to make an effort to target other population aside from men. If, for example, women and other genders do not feel welcome in esports spaces, they might also not feel welcome in your research.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Any League or tournament is based on "tracking score". Should we say that the Premiership is not sport, because they are only keeping tab of the scores?

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Anyone with any preparation can take part in traditional sports too. Go to the local club, play on the lowest league, you are doing sport. Go to a crossfit gym, participate in the local competitions, you are doing sport, etc etc.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Are you a sports scientist? Because if you were, you would know that most reserach is being conducted on cisgender men, even though we have access to cisgender women.

So what is the reason for not including women, when you have the availability?

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas It's not the same comparison at all. Running with friends does not have a global/regional ranking system based on your skill level.

That's your definition, but it's not the only one. Your choice, which is not agreed upon by everyone.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Ok, but if you look at papers about gaming there is the same situation. So what? Are you also going to say that men are the only one playing games too?

Also stop with the random comparisons. Online ranking systems are not the same as playing with friends.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Well, then why do we have the same issue in traditional sports science? Do you think women don't do traditional sports either?

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Well, then we should ask ourselves why are not women available to participate in your study? Because they exist, but they are not willing to participate. Do we, as researchers, have to change how we approach our recruitment? Or do we just blame women for not participating?

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Going to tournaments is almost never a criteria in studies on "esports players". Most of the time it's simply required that you play a game competitively. Whether you agree or not with the definition, that's a different point, but the criteria are always quite open.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas I disagree. If I play a game with a ranked system, in a competitive way, that's esports for me. There are many definition of esports, we obviously use a different one.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas Fair, but it still goes under the umbrella of esports research. I don't agree that you need to play in tournaments, but this is a different conversation.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas @l_swettenham @LyraNeedsPhD @LJMUSportSci That's a very limited and wrong way to "collect data". It's very much biased, and has no real value. Furthermore, you are only looking at people that compete in ESL open tournaments, which is not a requirement to be an esports player.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Kaszanas @l_swettenham @LyraNeedsPhD @LJMUSportSci The distribution is roughly 50/50, outside of professional esports. It's referenced at the start of the paper.

There are differences in different games, but overall the numbers are quite similar.

If you have any other numbers, please feel free to let me know.

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

@Ski1ton @LyraNeedsPhD @l_swettenham @CollegeEsports_ Thanks 😁

[Sam Di Nicola (They/She) @Sam_Di_Nicola]

Yay! Our research is out 😁

@LyraNeedsPhD @l_swettenham @CollegeEsports_

[International Journal of Esports @IJESPORTS]

New paper published on the International Journal of Esports Website

Titled: 🔴 The Overrepresentation of Cisgender Men in Esports Research 🔴

✅Open Access ✅

📊 Original Review Article 📊

Link: https://t.co/Ke48CqZvtF