Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research

Anand P.A. van Zelderen; Theodore C. Masters-Waage; Salvatore J. Affinito; Mary M. Hausfeld; Anely Bekbergenova; Kirsten Cowan; Tilo Hartmann; Albert Jolink; Jakob J. Korbel; Theo Lynn; Laetitia Renier; Dhruv P. Singh; Sinuo Wu; Domna Banakou; Allison Bayro; Tibor Bosse; Eva Derous; Dejan Draschkow; Kristen A. Ferguson; Thomas Fritz; Diego Gomez-Zara; Christian Hauser; Vivianna Fang He; Lauren C. Howe; Devesh Jain; Zoe Kinias; Yanick X. Lukic; Jochen I. Menges; Alireza Mortezapour; Abhishek Nagaraj; Chan Hyung Park; Susan Persky; Moritz Remund; Diana R. Sanchez; Maaike Schellaert; Stephan Streuber; Eleonora Viganò; Michael Villano; Wouter Vleugels; Markus Zank; Timothy D. Hubbard

doi:10.1073/pnas.2524991123

Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research

Anand P.A. van Zelderen
, Theodore C. Masters-Waage
, Salvatore J. Affinito
, Mary M. Hausfeld
, Anely Bekbergenova
, Kirsten Cowan
, Tilo Hartmann
, Albert Jolink
, Jakob J. Korbel
, Theo Lynn
, Laetitia Renier
, Dhruv P. Singh
, Sinuo Wu
, Domna Banakou
, Allison Bayro
, Tibor Bosse
, Eva Derous
, Dejan Draschkow
, Kristen A. Ferguson
, Thomas Fritz

Diego Gomez-Zara, Christian Hauser, Vivianna Fang He, Lauren C. Howe, Devesh Jain, Zoe Kinias, Yanick X. Lukic, Jochen I. Menges, Alireza Mortezapour, Abhishek Nagaraj, Chan Hyung Park, Susan Persky, Moritz Remund, Diana R. Sanchez, Maaike Schellaert, Stephan Streuber, Eleonora Viganò, Michael Villano, Wouter Vleugels, Markus Zank, Timothy D. Hubbard

Kemmy Business School

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University of South-Eastern Norway
New York University Abu Dhabi
Arizona State University
Radboud University Nijmegen
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World Economic Forum
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Nanyang Technological University
National Institutes of Health
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University of Liege
Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

By immersing participants in consistent virtual environments, VR enhances study realism, reduces confounding variables, and improves procedural control, offering a promising solution for scientists interested in studying behavior “in the wild.” The availability and documentation of data enabled by VR also help address replicability challenges. Despite vast potential, VR research is hindered by fragmentation, proprietary tools, and a lack of standardized practices, which limit its overall impact. This collaborative study presents an interactive checklist to support VR research from across disciplines to meet three essential protocols—interoperability, procedural standardization, and data sharing—that address these challenges by promoting open science and providing a common, easy-to-evaluate format for researchers to present projects to ethics boards, reviewers, and beyond. Together, these protocols can help VR research overcome replication barriers, democratize access to advanced tools, and establish VR as a robust method for rigorous, replicable scientific inquiry.

Original language	English
Article number	e2524991123
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	123
Issue number	26
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123
Publication status	Published - 30 Jun 2026

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van Zelderen, A. P. A., Masters-Waage, T. C., Affinito, S. J., Hausfeld, M. M., Bekbergenova, A., Cowan, K., Hartmann, T., Jolink, A., Korbel, J. J., Lynn, T., Renier, L., Singh, D. P., Wu, S., Banakou, D., Bayro, A., Bosse, T., Derous, E., Draschkow, D., Ferguson, K. A., ... Hubbard, T. D. (2026). Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 123(26), Article e2524991123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123

@article{62f9c30586f145daaf37ddfd18571cda,

title = "Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research",

abstract = "By immersing participants in consistent virtual environments, VR enhances study realism, reduces confounding variables, and improves procedural control, offering a promising solution for scientists interested in studying behavior {\textquotedblleft}in the wild.{\textquotedblright} The availability and documentation of data enabled by VR also help address replicability challenges. Despite vast potential, VR research is hindered by fragmentation, proprietary tools, and a lack of standardized practices, which limit its overall impact. This collaborative study presents an interactive checklist to support VR research from across disciplines to meet three essential protocols{\textemdash}interoperability, procedural standardization, and data sharing{\textemdash}that address these challenges by promoting open science and providing a common, easy-to-evaluate format for researchers to present projects to ethics boards, reviewers, and beyond. Together, these protocols can help VR research overcome replication barriers, democratize access to advanced tools, and establish VR as a robust method for rigorous, replicable scientific inquiry.",

author = "\{van Zelderen\}, \{Anand P.A.\} and Masters-Waage, \{Theodore C.\} and Affinito, \{Salvatore J.\} and Hausfeld, \{Mary M.\} and Anely Bekbergenova and Kirsten Cowan and Tilo Hartmann and Albert Jolink and Korbel, \{Jakob J.\} and Theo Lynn and Laetitia Renier and Singh, \{Dhruv P.\} and Sinuo Wu and Domna Banakou and Allison Bayro and Tibor Bosse and Eva Derous and Dejan Draschkow and Ferguson, \{Kristen A.\} and Thomas Fritz and Diego Gomez-Zara and Christian Hauser and He, \{Vivianna Fang\} and Howe, \{Lauren C.\} and Devesh Jain and Zoe Kinias and Lukic, \{Yanick X.\} and Menges, \{Jochen I.\} and Alireza Mortezapour and Abhishek Nagaraj and Park, \{Chan Hyung\} and Susan Persky and Moritz Remund and Sanchez, \{Diana R.\} and Maaike Schellaert and Stephan Streuber and Eleonora Vigan{\`o} and Michael Villano and Wouter Vleugels and Markus Zank and Hubbard, \{Timothy D.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2026 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.",

year = "2026",

month = jun,

day = "30",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.2524991123",

language = "English",

volume = "123",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

number = "26",

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van Zelderen, APA, Masters-Waage, TC, Affinito, SJ, Hausfeld, MM, Bekbergenova, A, Cowan, K, Hartmann, T, Jolink, A, Korbel, JJ, Lynn, T, Renier, L, Singh, DP, Wu, S, Banakou, D, Bayro, A, Bosse, T, Derous, E, Draschkow, D, Ferguson, KA, Fritz, T, Gomez-Zara, D, Hauser, C, He, VF, Howe, LC, Jain, D, Kinias, Z, Lukic, YX, Menges, JI, Mortezapour, A, Nagaraj, A, Park, CH, Persky, S, Remund, M, Sanchez, DR, Schellaert, M, Streuber, S, Viganò, E, Villano, M, Vleugels, W, Zank, M & Hubbard, TD 2026, 'Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 123, no. 26, e2524991123. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2524991123

TY - JOUR

T1 - Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research

AU - van Zelderen, Anand P.A.

AU - Masters-Waage, Theodore C.

AU - Affinito, Salvatore J.

AU - Hausfeld, Mary M.

AU - Bekbergenova, Anely

AU - Cowan, Kirsten

AU - Hartmann, Tilo

AU - Jolink, Albert

AU - Korbel, Jakob J.

AU - Lynn, Theo

AU - Renier, Laetitia

AU - Singh, Dhruv P.

AU - Wu, Sinuo

AU - Banakou, Domna

AU - Bayro, Allison

AU - Bosse, Tibor

AU - Derous, Eva

AU - Draschkow, Dejan

AU - Ferguson, Kristen A.

AU - Fritz, Thomas

AU - Gomez-Zara, Diego

AU - Hauser, Christian

AU - He, Vivianna Fang

AU - Howe, Lauren C.

AU - Jain, Devesh

AU - Kinias, Zoe

AU - Lukic, Yanick X.

AU - Menges, Jochen I.

AU - Mortezapour, Alireza

AU - Nagaraj, Abhishek

AU - Park, Chan Hyung

AU - Persky, Susan

AU - Remund, Moritz

AU - Sanchez, Diana R.

AU - Schellaert, Maaike

AU - Streuber, Stephan

AU - Viganò, Eleonora

AU - Villano, Michael

AU - Vleugels, Wouter

AU - Zank, Markus

AU - Hubbard, Timothy D.

PY - 2026/6/30

Y1 - 2026/6/30

N2 - By immersing participants in consistent virtual environments, VR enhances study realism, reduces confounding variables, and improves procedural control, offering a promising solution for scientists interested in studying behavior “in the wild.” The availability and documentation of data enabled by VR also help address replicability challenges. Despite vast potential, VR research is hindered by fragmentation, proprietary tools, and a lack of standardized practices, which limit its overall impact. This collaborative study presents an interactive checklist to support VR research from across disciplines to meet three essential protocols—interoperability, procedural standardization, and data sharing—that address these challenges by promoting open science and providing a common, easy-to-evaluate format for researchers to present projects to ethics boards, reviewers, and beyond. Together, these protocols can help VR research overcome replication barriers, democratize access to advanced tools, and establish VR as a robust method for rigorous, replicable scientific inquiry.

AB - By immersing participants in consistent virtual environments, VR enhances study realism, reduces confounding variables, and improves procedural control, offering a promising solution for scientists interested in studying behavior “in the wild.” The availability and documentation of data enabled by VR also help address replicability challenges. Despite vast potential, VR research is hindered by fragmentation, proprietary tools, and a lack of standardized practices, which limit its overall impact. This collaborative study presents an interactive checklist to support VR research from across disciplines to meet three essential protocols—interoperability, procedural standardization, and data sharing—that address these challenges by promoting open science and providing a common, easy-to-evaluate format for researchers to present projects to ethics boards, reviewers, and beyond. Together, these protocols can help VR research overcome replication barriers, democratize access to advanced tools, and establish VR as a robust method for rigorous, replicable scientific inquiry.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105043418837

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.2524991123

DO - 10.1073/pnas.2524991123

M3 - Article

C2 - 42341049

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 123

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 26

M1 - e2524991123

ER -

Creating common virtual ground: Protocols to democratize open VR research

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