Debriefing Research Games: Context, Substance and Method

Background. Debriefing is an intrinsic part of games for learning and properdebriefing can also be beneficial to research games. However, the literatureon how to debrief research games is sparse and only provides the professionalwith an abstract topic guide.Aim. The purpose of this study was to design a framework for the debriefing ofresearch games that are used in ongoing innovation processes.Method. We used the literature on debriefing and experimental research and ourexperience as game designers to build a framework that tackles the context,substance and method of debriefing research games.Results. Our framework provides three contributions. First, it shows howthe context in which a research game is applied sometimes impacts thefunctionality of the game in negative ways. This can be helped by designing boththe game and the debriefing together. Second, we operationalize validity to agreater extent, as this is the core of a good research game. Third, we providea methodology for debriefing professionals that opens up the black box of thegaming simulation session.Conclusion. The debriefing framework provides a method to collectively assessthe validity, reliability and robustness of the causal claims associated with theresearch conducted