Synopsis:
The proposed paper describes and evaluates the implementation of the Dilemma Game workshop at the Czech National Library of Technology in Prague in 2025–2026. It presents the findings of our qualitative, observational study of game participants in relation to two questions: Does the game promote ethical learning and conflict resolution and if so, how? How are norms around generative AI collectively constructed and contested in facilitated peer discussions based on AI-focused ethical dilemmas?
Abstract:
We propose a presentation describing, analyzing, and evaluating the Dilemma Game workshop recently implemented at the Czech National Library of Technology (NTK) in Prague.
NTK is a public and academic library specializing in STEM. Located on a university campus, it is loosely affiliated with three universities and a research institute (CTU Prague, UCT Prague, CZU, and IOCB Prague). Its Academic Services Department provides information literacy support to undergraduate/graduate students as well as advanced academic support to PhDs and early-career researchers, both locally and nationally through the NCIS R&D&I project. This support takes the form of one-shot webinars on topics from citing and navigating library resources to RDM and academic integrity, occasional workshops tailored to particular user groups, and individual consultations on demand – supplemented by instructional materials freely available on the library website.
The idea of learning through play is not new, but gamification of information literacy support provided in academic libraries has become the subject of sustained interest only relatively recently (Wintermeyer & Knautz 2015, Crowe & Sclippa 2020, Haasio, Madge, & Harviainen 2021, Adeyemi, Akanbi, & Issa 2025). The NTK Dilemma Game workshop is part of this trend. Set up in 2025, it builds on the Dilemma Game developed at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2010. Originally a card-based game (now available as a mobile app as well), this is a dilemma-based educational tool to promote academic integrity in two ways: by facilitating discussion of ethical issues regarding academia and research, and by enhancing cooperation and communal spirit among participants (Erasmus University Rotterdam 2025).
At NTK, we have both adapted and updated the original game. We have opted for an in-person workshop suited to our local environment, using a paper-based version of the game rather than the digital one. The workshop is held as a social event intended for PhD candidates and early-career researchers, and designed to create a safe space more conducive to the dual purpose of the game: not just to enable frank, informal exchange of views on integrity and misconduct, but also to invite networking and socializing among participants.
In addition, we have developed a new set of ten AI-focused dilemmas that respond to the changing landscape of academic work shaped by generative AI (Güneş & Liman Kaban 2025). These dilemmas address the appropriate use of AI tools in research and writing, the reliability and ethical implications of AI detection systems, questions of authorship and intellectual responsibility, and broader concerns about trust, transparency, and fairness in AI-mediated academic practices. Rather than treating AI merely as a technical tool, the cards invite participants to reflect on its ethical, social, and epistemic dimensions, encouraging them to consider how AI reshapes relationships between students, supervisors, peers, and institutions. These AI dilemmas were integrated alongside the original cards, allowing participants to move between more “traditional” integrity scenarios and contemporary AI-related challenges within a single workshop format.
In our presentation, we will discuss the rationale behind setting up the workshop, placing the Dilemma Game in the context of current theories of gamification (Rooney 2012, Barber 2021, Downie & Proulx 2022, Jug 2023, Riar, Morschheuser, Yarnekow, & Hamari 2024) and documented cases of gamification in (academic) libraries (Crowe & Sclippa 2020, Wheatley 2022). We will describe the way our workshop is organized, promoted, and moderated, including the practicalities involved in hosting this type of activity at NTK. We will contrast our approach with other modes of promoting academic integrity at Czech universities and research institutes.
Finally, we will present an evaluation of all Dilemma Game workshops held at NTK from September 2025 to June 2026, based on a qualitative, ethnographically informed analysis (Seim 2024). It will combine two sources of insight: structured participant observation conducted during the workshops in our roles as facilitators and participant observers, written up after each session; and written participant feedback collected after each session. In our analysis, we focus on patterns of interactions, and moments where ethical assumptions or uncertainties become explicit.
Our starting hypothesis is that the game allows participants to articulate implicit norms and values in self-conflicted ways, encountering uncertainties and differences of opinion that reveal the potential for serious ethical conflict. Does this gaming experience of uncertainty affect learning in a positive way, as some have suggested (Ozcelik, Cagiltay, & Ozcelik 2013)? Does the structure of the game facilitate conflict resolution that is emotionally satisfying? And, last but not least, how are norms around generative AI collectively constructed and contested in facilitated peer discussions based on AI-focused ethical dilemmas?
Our presentation will be of interest primarily to academic librarians thinking of adopting a similar “gaming” approach to promoting academic integrity as a key research competence. But it may also be useful to public librarians thinking of gamifying other, potentially controversial issues of public interest.
Keywords: Academic integrity, Gamification in academic libraries, Ethical conflict, Early-career researchers, Generative AI
References:
Adeyemi, I. O., Akanbi, M. L., & Issa, A. O. (2025). Influence of game literacy on gamified library services: A systematic review of literature. Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09557490251335953
Barber, C. S. (2021). When Students are Players: Toward a Theory of Student-Centric Edu-Gamification Systems. Journal of Information Systems Education, 32(1), 53–64.
Crowe, S. H., & Sclippa, E. (Eds.). (2020). Games and gamification in academic libraries. Association of College and Research Libraries.
Downie, S., & Proulx, S. (2022). Investigating the role of gamification in public libraries’ literacy-centered youth programming. International Journal of Play, 11(4), 382–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2022.2136637
Erasmus University Rotterdam. (2025, November 11). Dilemma Game. https://www.eur.nl/en/about-university/policy-and-regulations/integrity/research-integrity/dilemma-game
Güneş, A., Kaban, A. L. (2025). A Delphi Study on Ethical Challenges and Ensuring Academic Integrity Regarding AI Research in Higher Education. Higher Education Quarterly 79(4):e70057. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.70057
Haasio, A., Madge, O. L., & Harviainen, J. T. (2021). Games, gamification and libraries. In: New trends and challenges in information science and information seeking behaviour (pp. 127–137). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Jug, T. (2023). Exploring the role of games and gamification in academic libraries from the perspective of LIS educators. Education for Information, 39(3), 341–358. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-230038
Ozcelik, E., Cagiltay, N. E., & Ozcelik, N. S. (2013). The effect of uncertainty on learning in game-like environments. Computers & Education, 67, 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.009
Riar, M., Morschheuser, B., Zarnekow, R., & Hamari, J. (2024). Altruism or egoism – how do game features motivate cooperation? An investigation into user we-intention and I-intention. Behaviour & Information Technology, 43(6), 1017–1041. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2196581
Rooney, P. (2012). A Theoretical Framework for Serious Game Design: Exploring Pedagogy, Play and Fidelity and their Implications for the Design Process. International Journal of Game-Based Learning (IJGBL), 2(4), 41–60. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijgbl.2012100103
Seim, J. (2024). Participant Observation, Observant Participation, and Hybrid Ethnography. Sociological Methods & Research, 53(1), 121–152. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124120986209
Wheatley, A. (2022). Let’s duel: The gamification of business information literacy for undergraduate students. In Snipes, G. (Ed.). Teaching business information literacy (pp. 29–35). Association of College and Research Libraries Publications. https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/books/2f75rd981
Wintermeyer, A., Knautz, K. (2015). Meaningful Implementation of Gamification in Information Literacy Instruction. In: S. Kurbanoglu, J. Boustany, S. Špiranec, E. Grassian, D. Mizrachi, L. Roy (eds). Information Literacy: Moving Toward Sustainability. ECIL 2015. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 552. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28197-1_36
Zeybek, N., & Saygı, E. (2024). Gamification in education: Why, where, when, and how?—A systematic review. Games and Culture, 19(2), 237-264.