Oxford University Press, 2000. As a result, some of the most interesting scholars in France today you never hear about at all. This is a quantitative study of interactions on LambdaMOO that blows up a lot of hyperbolic claims about virtual worlds. The hype says that MOO participants assume fictional personas, navigate vast online territories, and build complex virtual societies. In reality, a strong majority of the LambdaMOO participants that Schiano studied used their real names, stayed pretty much in one place, and socialized in small and even exclusive groups.
Quantitative study gets a bad name because so many survey researchers ask bad questions.
But this is an example of what you can do by asking the right questions in a valid way. Jefferson also edited the lectures for publication. He left no particular evidence one way or the other. That's a healthy tension, I think, and one we should all cultivate. Riverhead Books, 1998.