Researching in the metaverse: opportunities and risks of virtual realms

This immersive digital realm offers both exciting opportunities and daunting challenges for research. The report delves into the impact of metaverse technology on research domains, discussing its benefits, risks, and ethical considerations through real-world examples, emerging trends, and expert insights.

The aim is to equip readers with a comprehensive understanding to navigate this evolving landscape responsibly and effectively.

The metaverse transcends boundaries, offering a dynamic ecosystem for various activities like social interactions, commerce, and entertainment.

Key components include virtual reality platforms, augmented reality applications, blockchain technology, and spatial computing.

While promising to reshape research by simulating environments, enabling remote collaborations, and enhancing data visualization, concerns around privacy, safety, and the credibility of virtual findings must be addressed for ethical research practices.

Advantages of research in the metaverse include creating realistic virtual environments for experiments, facilitating global collaborations and data collection, immersive data visualization, and promoting inclusivity for individuals with disabilities.

However, risks such as privacy and data security issues, ethical dilemmas regarding consent and psychological harm, validity of virtual findings, and technical limitations may pose challenges.

Research applications in the metaverse span diverse domains like medical training, environmental studies, social sciences, and engineering research.

To ensure responsible conduct in metaverse-based research, key considerations include obtaining informed consent from participants, prioritizing data privacy and security measures, monitoring virtual environment safety and psychological well-being, establishing ethical review boards, and promoting transparency and open science practices.