OmniPres Guide and Compendium

In 2004, Joy van Baren and Wijnand IJsselsteijn authored “Measuring Presence: A Guide to Current Measurement Approaches” as a ‘deliverable’ for the OmniPres project, funded by the European Community under the Information Society Technologies” Programme. A measurement compendium appears in that document and a summary appeared on the official OmniPres web site, presence-research.org. The Guide is available in .pdf format here; the tabular summary is reproduced below. NOTE: Links have not been updated and some are incorrect/dead.

Measurement Compendium from presence-research.org

Copyright 2004 & 2005, IST FET OMNIPRES project
Eindhoven University of Technology

Contents

  • Subjective measures
    • Questionnaires
    • Continuous assessment
    • Qualitative measures
    • Psychophysiological measures
    • Subjective corroborative measures
  • Objective corroborative measures
    • Psychophysiological measures
    • Neural correlates
    • Behavioural measures
    • Task performance measures

    Subjective measures

    Subjective measures: Questionnaires

    Name Description Primary Source
    Barfield et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 2-3 items Barfield, W., & Weghorst, S. (1993). The sense of presence within virtual environments: A conceptual framework. In G. Salvendy & M. Smith (Eds), Human-computer interaction: Applications and case studies (pp.699-704). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
    Cho et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 4 items Cho, D., Park, J., Kim, G., Hong, S., Han, S., & Lee, S. (2003). Dichotomy of presence elements: The where and what. Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality 2003, 273-274. [pdf, 132KB]
    Dinh et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 14 items Dinh, H. Q., Walker, N., Song, C., Kobayashi, A., & Hodges L.F. (1999). Evaluating the importance of multi-sensory input on memory and the sense of presence in virtual environments. Proceedings of the IEEE Virtual Reality 1999, 222-228. [doc, 420 KB]
    Gerhard et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 19 items Gerhard, M., Moore, D., & Hobbs, D. (2001). Continuous presence in collaborative virtual environments: Towards the evaluation of a hybrid avatar-agent model for user representation. In A. de Antonio, R. Aylett, & D. Ballin (Eds.): Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents, pp. 137-153, Madrid, Spain. [pdf, 320 KB]
    Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) Physical presence, 75 items Schubert, T., Friedmann, F., & Regenbrecht, H. (2001). The experience of presence: Factor analytic insights. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10, 266-281.
    ITC Sense of Presence INventory (ITC-SOPI) Physical presence, 44 items Lessiter, J., Freeman, J., Keogh, E., Davidoff, J. (2001). A cross-media presence questionnaire: The ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory. Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, 10, 282-298. [pdf, 308 KB]
    Kim & Biocca Questionnaire Physical presence, 8 items Kim, T., & Biocca, F. (1997). Telepresence via television: Two dimensions of telepresence may have different connections to memory and persuasion. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 3 (2).[html]
    Krauss et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 42 items Krauss, M., Scheuchenpflug, R., Piechulla, W., & Zimmer, A. (2001). Measurement of presence in virtual environments. In A. Zimmer, K. Lange, K.-H. Bäuml, R. Loose, R. Scheuchenpflug, O. Tucha, H. Schnell & R. Findl (Eds), Experimentelle Psychologie. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers. [pdf, 320 KB]
    MEC Spatial Presence Questionnaire (MECSPQ) Physical presence, 2 x 8 items Vorderer, P, Wirth, W., Gouveia, F. R., Biocca, F., Saari, T., Jäncke, F., Böcking, S., Schramm, H., Gysbers, A., Hartmann, T., Klimmt, C., Laarni, J., Ravaja, N., Sacau, A., Baumgartner, T. & Jäncke, P. (2004). MEC Spatial Presence Questionnaire (MECSPQ): Short Documentation and Instructions for Application. Report to the European Community, Project Presence: MEC (IST-2001-37661). [pdf, 217 KB]
    Murray et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 5 items Murray, C., Arnold, P., & Thornton, B. (2000). Presence accompanying induced hearing loss: Implications for immersive virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 9, 137-148.
    Nichols et al. Questionnaire Physical presence, 9 items Nichols, S., Haldane, C., & Wilson , J. R. (2000) Measurement of presence and its consequences in virtual environments. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 52, 471-491.
    Object Presence Questionnaire (OPQ) Physical presence, adaptation of PQ Stevens, B., Jerrams-Smith, J., Heathcote, D., & Callear, D. (2002). Putting the virtual into reality: Assessing object-presence with projection-augmented models. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 11, 79-92.[pdf, 227 KB]
    Presence Questionnaire (PQ) Physical presence, 19 items Witmer, B. G., & Singer, M. J. (1998). Measuring presence in virtual environments: A presence questionnaire. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 7, 225-240. [pdf, 100KB]
    Questionnaire on Presence and Realism Physical presence, 10 items Parent, A. (1998). A virtual environment task analysis workbook for the creation and evaluation of virtual art exhibits. Technical Report NRC 41557 ERB-1056, National Research Council Canada. [pdf, 320 KB]
    Reality Judgment and Presence Questionnaire Physical presence, 18 items Baños, R. M., Botella, C., Garcia-Palacios, A., Villa, H., Perpina, C., & Alcaniz, M. (2000). Presence and reality judgment in virtual environments: A unitary construct? CyberPsychology and Behaviour, 3, 327-335.
    Slater-Usoh-Steed Questionnaire (SUS) Physical presence, 3-6 items Slater, M., Usoh, M., & Steed, A. (1994). Depth of presence in virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 3, 130-144.
    Swedish User-Viewer Presence Questionnaire Physical presence, 19 items Larsson, P., Västfjäll, D., & Kleiner, M. (2001a). The actor-observer effect in virtual reality presentations. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 4, 239-246.
    Lombard & Ditton Questionnaire Physical and social presence, 103 items Lombard, M., Ditton, T. B., Crane, D., Davis, B., Gil-Egui, G., Horvath, K., et al. (2000). Measuring presence: A literature-based approach to the development of a standardized paper-and-pencil instrument. In W. IJsselsteijn, J. Freeman, & H. de Ridder (Eds), Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Presence, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
    Nowak & Biocca Questionnaire Physical and social presence, 29 items Nowak, K.L., & Biocca, F. (2003). The effect of the agency and anthropomorphism on users’ sense of telepresence, copresence, and social presence in virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 12, 2-35.
    Schroeder et al. Questionnaire Physical and social presence, 10 items Schroeder, R., Steed, A., Axelsson, A-S., Heldal, I., Abelin, A., Wideström, et al. (2001). Collaborating in networked immersive spaces: as good as being there together? Computer & Graphics, 25, 781-788.
    Thie & Van Wijk Questionnaire Physical and social presence Thie, S., & Van Wijk, J., (1998). A general theory on presence: Experimental evaluation of social virtual presence in a decision making task. Paper presented at Presence in Shared Virtual Environments Workshop, University College London, 10 – 11 June 1998. [html]
    Bailenson et al. Questionnaire Social presence, 5 items Bailenson, J.N., Blascovich, J., Beall, A.C., & Loomis, J.M. (2001). Equilibrium revisited: Mutual gaze and personal space in virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 10, 583-598. [pdf, 640 KB]
    Basdogan et al. Questionnaire Social presence, 8 items Basdogan, C., Ho, C., Srinivasan, M. A., & Slater, M. (2000) An experimental study on the role of touch in shared virtual environments. ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction, 7(4), 443-460. [pdf, 204 KB]
    CMC Questionnaire/Social Presence and Privacy Questionnaire (SPPQ) Social presence, 17 items Tu, C. (2002b). The impacts of text-based CMC on online social presence. The journal of interactive online learning, 1(2).
    GlobalEdQuestionnaire Social presence, 14 items Gunawerda, C.N., & Zittle, F.J. (1997). Social presence as a predictor of satisfaction within a computer-mediated conferencing environment. The American journal of distance education, 11(3), 8-26.
    IPO Social Presence Questionnaire (IPO-SPQ) Social presence, 17 items De Greef, P., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2001). Social presence in a home tele-application. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 4, 307-316. [html]
    Networked Minds Questionnaire Social presence, 69 items Biocca, F., Harms, C., & Gregg, J. (2001) The Networked Minds measure of social presence: Pilot test of the factor structure and concurrent validity. Paper presented at Presence 2001, Philadelphia, USA, 9-11 October 2001. [pdf, 81 KB]
    Para-Social Presence Questionnaire Social presence, 34 items Kumar, N., & Benbasat, I. (2002). Para-social presence and communication capabilities of a website: A theoretical perspective. e-Service Journal, 1(3), 5-24. [html]
    Semantic Differential Technique Social presence, 24 items Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons.

    Subjective measures: Continuous assessment

    Name Description Primary Source
    Continuous Assessment Continuous, on-line rating by means of a slider button IJsselsteijn, W.A., De Ridder, H., Hamberg, R., Bouwhuis, D., & Freeman, J. (1998). Perceived depth and the feeling of presence in 3DTV. Displays, 18, 207-214. [pdf, 591 KB]

    Subjective measures: Qualitative measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Autoconfrontation Method Continuous post-rating aided by videomaterial Retaux, X. (2003). Presence in the environment: theories, methodologies and applications to video games. PsychNology Journal, 1(3), 284 – 310. [pdf, 236 KB]
    Content Analysis Coding of (conversation) transcripts Rourke, L., Anderson, T. Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (1999). Assessing social presence in asynchronous, text-based computer conferencing. Journal of Distance Education, 14(3), 51-70. [html]
    Ethnographic Observation Various descriptive methods for studying sociocultural phenomena McGreevy, M. W. (1992). The presence of field geologists in Mars-like terrain. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 1, 375 – 403.
    Experience Sampling Method (ESM) Repeated, prompted assessment in a realistic environment Gaggioli, A., Bassi, M., & Delle Fave, A. (2003). Quality of Experience in Virtual Environments. In G. Riva, F. Davide, & W.A. IJsselsteijn (Eds) Being There: Concepts, Effects and Measurements of User Presence in Synthetic Environments. Amsterdam: IOS Press. [pdf, 196 KB]
    Focus Group Exploration Organized discussion in small groups Freeman, J., & Avons, S.E. (2000). Focus group exploration of presence through advanced broadcast services. Proceedings of the SPIE, 3959, 530-164. [pdf, 80 KB]
    Free-Format Self Reports Retrospective description of an experience Turner, S., Turner, P., Caroll, F., O’Neill, S., Benyon, D., McCall, R., et al. (2003). Re-creating the Botanics: Towards a sense of place in virtual environments. Paper presented at the 3rd UK Environmental Psychology Conference, Aberdeen, 23-25 June 2003. [pdf, 420 KB]
    Interaction Analysis Systematic analysis of action, aided by videomaterial Spagnolli, A., Varotto, D., & Mantovani, G. (2003). An ethnographic, action-based approach to human experience in virtual environments. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 59, 797-822. [pdf, 604 KB]
    Interview Asking open questions in an un- or semistructured conversation Murray, C., Arnold, P., & Thornton, B. (2000). Presence accompanying induced hearing loss: Implications for immersive virtual environments. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 9, 137-148.
    Presence Probe Various probes eliciting description of sense of place McCall, R., O’Neill, S., Carroll, F., & Benyon, D. (2004). The Presence Probe. Paper presented at the Workshop on Designing and Evaluating Virtual Reality Systems, University of Notthingham, UK.
    Repertory Grid Analysis Method for exploring personal constructs Steed, A., & McDonnell, J. (2003). Experiences with repertory grid analysis for investigating effectiveness of virtual environments. Paper presented at Presence 2003, Aalborg, Denmark, 6-8 October 2003. [pdf, 138 KB]
    Thinking Aloud Verbalization of thought processes and feelings during an experience Turner, P., McGregor, I., Turner, S., & Carroll, F. (2003). Evaluating soundscapes as a means of creating a sense of place. In E. Brazil, & B. Shinn-Cunningham (Eds), Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on Auditory Display, 148-151. [pdf, 792 KB]

    Subjective measures: Psychophysiological measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Cross-Modality Matching (CMM) Equalling responses in different modalities Welch, R. B. (1997). The presence of aftereffects. In G. Salvendy, M. J. Smith, & R. J. Koubek (Eds). Designs of computing systems: Cognitive considerations (pp. 271-276). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
    Free-Modulus Magnitude Estimation Free assignment of values to stimuli Snow, M. P., & Williges, R. C. (1998). Empirical models based on free-modulus magnitude estimation of perceived presence in virtual environments. Human Factors, 40, 386-402.
    Paired Comparison Comparing the impact of pairs of stimuli Welch, R. B., Blackmon, T. T., Liu, A., Mellers, B. A., & Stark, L. W. (1996). The effects of pictorial realism, delay of visual feedback, and observer interactivity on the subjective sense of presence. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 5, 263-273.
    Virtual Reality Turing Test Discriminating between real and virtual environments Schloerb, D. W. (1995). A quantitative measure of telepresence. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 4, 64-80.

    Subjective measures: Subjective corroborative measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Breaks in Presence (BIPs) Reported transitions between the real and the virtual world Slater, M., & Steed, A. (2000). A virtual presence counter. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 9, 413-434. [pdf, 283 KB]
    Duration Estimation Subjective experience of elapsed time IJsselsteijn, W., De Kort, Y., & Bierhoff, I. (2001). Duration Estimation and Presence. Paper presented at Presence 2001, Philadelphia, USA, 9-11 October 2001.
    Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) Questionnaire assessing simulator sickness, 16 items Kennedy, R. S., Lane, N. E., Berbaum, K. S., & Lilienthal, M. G. (1993). Simulator sickness questionnaire: An enhanced method for quantifying simulator sickness. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 3(3),203-220.
    Memory Characteristic Questionnaire (MCQ) Questionnaire assessing qualitative differences of experiences in memory, 21 items Hullfish, K. C., (1996). Virtual reality monitoring: How real is virtual reality? Master’s thesis, University of Washington, USA. [rtf, 2 MB]
    Attention/Awareness Measures based on selective attention Darken, R. P., Bernatovich, D., Lawson, J., & Peterson, B. (1999). Quantitative measures of presence in virtual environments: The roles of attention and spatial comprehension. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 2, 337-347.
    Spatial Memory The amount of spatial information that is remembered from the VE Darken, R. P., Bernatovich, D., Lawson, J., & Peterson, B. (1999). Quantitative measures of presence in virtual environments: The roles of attention and spatial comprehension. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 2, 337-347.
    Spatial Memory Awareness States Questionnaire assessing different memory awareness states Mania, K., Troscianko, T., Hawkes, R., & Chalmers, A. (2003). Fidelity metrics for virtual environment simulations based on spatial memory awareness states. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 12, 296-310.
    Gravity-Referenced Eye Level (GREL) Subjective estimate of spatial orientation Nemire, K., Jacoby, R. H., & Ellis, S. R. (1994). Simulation fidelity of a virtual environment display. Human Factors, 36, 79-93.
    Subjective Tilt Angle Measure based on observers’ subjective coordinate axis Hatada, T., Sakata, H., & Kusaka, H. (1980). Psychophysical analysis of the sensation of reality. SMPTE Journal, 89, 560-569.

    Objective Corroborative Measures

    Objective corraborative measures: Psychophysiological measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Cardiovascular Measures Measures associated with heart rate and blood pressure Dillon, C., Keogh, E., Freeman, J., & Davidoff, J. (2000). Aroused and immersed: The psychophysiology of presence. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Presence. Eindhoven, The Netherlands. [html]
    Skin Measures Measures associated with skin conductance and skin temperature Meehan, M., Insko, B., Whitton, M., & Brooks, F. P. (2001). Physiological measures of presence in virtual environments. In Proceedings of 4th International Workshop on Presence. Philadelphia, USA, 21-23 May, 2001. [pdf, 756 KB]
    Ocular Measures Measures associated with the eyes, e.g. eye tracking, pupil response Laarni, J., Ravaja, N., & Saari, T. (2003). Using eye tracking and psychophysiological methods to study spatial presence. In Proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Presence. Aalborg, Denmark, 6-8 October 2003. [pdf, 30 KB]
    Facial Electromyography (EMG) Measurement of potential differences on the skin surface as indication of emotion Ravaja, N. (2002). Presence-related influences of a small talking facial image on psychophysiological measures of emotion and attention. In Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Presence. Porto, Portugal, October 9-11 2002.

    Objective corraborative measures: Neural correlates

    Name Description Primary Source
    Electroencephalogram (EEG) Recording of electrical activity from the scalp Schlögl, A., Slater, M., & Pfurtscheller, G. (2002). Presence Research and EEG. In Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Presence. Porto, Portugal, October 9-11 2002. [pdf, 63 KB]
    Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Measuring changes in the blood flow to the brain Hoffman, H.G., Richards, T., Coda, B., Richards, A., & Sharar, S.R. (2003). The illusion of presence in immersive virtual reality during and fMRI brain scan. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 6, 127-131. [pdf, 316 KB]

    Objective corraborative measures: Behavioral measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Facial Expression Observation of facial expression Huang, M., & Alessi, N. (1999). Presence as an emotional experience. In J. D Westwood, H. M. Hoffman, R. A. Robb, & D. Stredney, (Eds). Medicine meets virtual reality: The convergence of physical and informational technologies options for a new era in healthcare. Amsterdam: IOS Press. [html]
    Nulling Measure based on counterbalancing of stimuli Prothero, J., & Parker, D. (2003). A unified approach to presence and motion sickness. In L. Hettinger & M. Haas (Eds). Virtual and adaptive environments: Applications, implications, and performance issues (pp. 47-66). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
    Postural Responses Measurement of body movements in reaction to stimuli Freeman, J., Avons, S., Meddis, R., Pearson, D., & IJsselsteijn, W. (2000). Using behavioural realism to estimate presence: A study of the utility of postural responses to motion stimuli. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 9, 149-164.
    Pointing (Conflicting Cues) Measure based on conflicting real and virtual cues Slater, M., Usoh, M., Chrysanthou, Y. (1995). The influence of dynamic shadows on presence in immersive virtual environments. In M. Goebel (Ed.). Proceedings of the 2nd Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Reality. Monte Carlo, Monaco, January 1995. [pdf, 56 KB]
    Reflex Responses Observation of reflex responses in reaction to stimuli Nichols, S., Haldane, C., & Wilson , J. R. (2000) Measurement of presence and its consequences in virtual environments. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 52, 471-491.
    Social Responses Observation of socially conditioned behaviours in reaction to social virtual encounters Bailenson, J.N., Blascovich, J., Beall, A.C., & Loomis, J.M., (2003). Interpersonal distance in immersive virtual environments. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1-15. [pdf, 804 KB]

    Objective corraborative measures: Task performance measures

    Name Description Primary Source
    Completion
    Time and Error Rate    		 Measuring the time taken to complete
    a task and the number of errors made in that task    		 Basdogan, C., Ho, C., Srinivasan, M. A., & Slater, M. (2000). An experimental study on the role of touch in shared virtual environments. ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction, 7(4), 443-460. [pdf, 204 KB]
    Number of Actions Counting the number of actions or steps
    needed to complete a task    		 Slater, M., Linakis, V., Usoh, M., & Kooper, R., (1996). Immersion, presence, and performance in virtual environments: An experiment with tri-dimensional chess. In M. Green (Ed), ACM Virtual Reality Software and Technology (pp. 163-172), 1-4 July 1996. [html]
    Secondary Task Performance Adding a secondary task and measuring
    performance    		 Nichols, S., Haldane, C., & Wilson , J. R. (2000) Measurement of presence and its consequences in virtual environments. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 52, 471-491.
    Transfer The degree to which a skill is transferred
    to a real-world situation    		 Youngblut, C., & Perrin, B. M. (2002). Investigating the relationship between presence and performance in virtual environments. Paper presented at IMAGE 2002 Conference, Arizona.

    • Find Researchers

      Use the links below to find researchers listed alphabetically by the first letter of their last name.

      A | B | C | D | E | F| G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z