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IST 605: Dungeons & Dragons

A guide on Dungeons & Dragons: What it is, how to play it, and why you should.

Additional Research

There is an abundance of research available exploring the benefits and related applications for Dungeons & Dragons for different environments, including those involving psychology, social sciences, and education. This guide provides a few valuable resources divided into three topic areas: Mental Health & Therapy, Education and Youth, and LGBTQ+ issues

For additional research relating to Dungeons & Dragons and it's applicable benefits on those who play it, one might benefit from using a database specific to the subject you are examining, such as the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO) for psychology, or Education Source (EBSCO) for education.  For a more general scope of research, you may begin by searching "role playing games or tabletop or dungeons and dragons" in the main search bar to see what information is available. It is important to experiment with these various terms that can represent D&D in studies. Then, utilize the secondary search bar to include keywords specific to the results you want. For example, if you want information relating to D&D and anxiety, you can search "role playing games or tabletop or dungeons and dragons" AND "anxiety."

For Queer Studies relating to Dungeons & Dragons, try similar searches with LGBTQ+ Source.

The provided resources suggest that D&D can be applied in education toward a variety of different subjects, including classical literature, foreign language, science, and mathematics. If you are interested in studying D&D as a pedagogical tool for a different subject, utilize databases like Education Source (EBSCO) and ERIC (EBSCO) and include your subject as a secondary key term in an advanced search. 

Users may also benefit from including the target age range in their search. For example, if you would like to learn more about the impacts of D&D on adolescent anxiety, you might search "'dungeons and dragons' AND anxiety AND adolescents."

Consider the publication years of your documents carefully. The history of D&D suggests that public opinion and interpretations of D&D have changed greatly in the last 50 years. 

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