University of British Columbia

Researching Game-Based Learning: A Brief Synthesis Project

This research synthesis examines digital game-based learning (DGBL) literature, screening roughly 1,500 database results down to about 1,300 papers published from 2010 onward.

• The synthesis screened roughly 1,500 database results down to about 1,300 papers published from 2010 onward on digital game-based learning (DGBL).
• Motivation is the most substantive finding: of 537 papers referencing motivation in titles, keywords, or abstracts, only 120 were reviewed in full, revealing that the construct is often used interchangeably with engagement, persistence, and flow.
• Many studies center motivation without defining it, and self-report and observational measures vary considerably across studies, leaving what the authors call a "black box" conception of motivation in the field.