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The method uses immersive virtual reality with integrated eye tracking, followed by screen-recording review and simultaneous “thought aloud” narration. Emerging themes are explored through interviews and linked to survey data, while eye-tracking measures attention to environmental cues. 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Crime Science (2024) 13:39 Crime Science  \n[https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-024-00236-4](https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-024-00236-4)  \nRESEARCH Open Access  \nVirtual reality-based retrospective think aloud (VR-RTA): a novel method for studying offender decision-making  \nCarmen-Silva Sergiou 1,5, Dominik Gerstner2, Claire Nee3, Henk Elffers4 and Jean-Louis van Gelder 1,2*  \nAbstract  \nObjectives This article describes and tests a novel multi-method approach to examine decision-making: Virtual Reality-Based Retrospective Think-Aloud (VR-RTA) . The VR-RTA method taps into the offender perspective and aims to enhance memory recall and information elicitation.  \nMethods We applied VR-RTA among a sample of incarcerated burglars (N = 200) who scouted virtual neighborhoods to explore opportunities for burglary in immersive VR equipped with integrated eye tracking. Subsequently, they viewed a screen recording of their scouting process and simultaneously “thought aloud” about their assessment of the environment and decision-making strategies. Emerging themes were then further examined in an interview and linked to survey data. Recorded eye tracking data were used to examine burglars’ attention towards environmental features to identify deterrent and attracting cues, and were triangulated with the survey and interview data.  \nResults Rich and detailed insights into participants’ interpretation of the environment and their decision-making strategies were obtained. VR-RTA assisted in verbalizing automated cognitive processes and increased participant engagement by building rapport.  \nConclusions As a multi-method approach able to capture in-the-moment considerations underlying decisionmaking during crime commission, VR-RTA offers potential to develop into an important tool for crime research. It is able to both overcome limitations of studies using retrospective methods, such as interviews and surveys, and contribute to the nascent field of criminological research using immersive technologies.  \nKeywords Decision-making, Mixed methods, Multi-method, Think-aloud protocol, Virtual reality, Eye tracking, Burglary, Offender perspective  \n*Correspondence:  \nJean-Louis van Gelder  \nj.vangelder@csl.mpg.de  \n1Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands  \n2Department of Criminology, Max Planck Institute for Crime, Security and Law, Günterstalstraße 73, 79100 Freiburg, Germany  \n3Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK 4Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement, Amsterdam, The Netherlands  \n5Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosocial Care, Amsterdam University Medical Center (AUMC), Amsterdam, The Netherlands  \n© The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by/4.0/.  \nSergiou et al. Crime Science (2024) 13:39  \nThose with prolific experience with offending are uniquely positioned to provide insight into the development of that behavior (Topalli et al., 2020). In criminology, interviews have long been regarded as the go-to method to tap into this insight (e.g., Maruna, 2001; Brookman et al., 2011","cbCaipAeZR8rhh6a","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipAeZR8rhh6a","pdf",3496281,17,"English","# Abstract\n## Objectives\n## Methods\n## Results\n## Conclusions\n# Introduction\n## Limits of retrospective interviewing\n## Immersive VR as contextual reinstatement\n## Need for combining VR with additional methods\n# Proposed Approach\n## VR-RTA integration with think-aloud protocols","[{\"question\":\"What is the VR-RTA method proposed in the study?\",\"answer\":\"VR-RTA combines immersive virtual reality with a retrospective think-aloud procedure and integrated eye tracking. Participants explore virtual opportunities, then review a recording while articulating their thoughts about the environment and their decision-making strategies.\"},{\"question\":\"How were participants and data collected in the study?\",\"answer\":\"The study applied VR-RTA to a sample of incarcerated burglars (N=200) using immersive VR with eye tracking during scouting. Afterward, participants thought aloud while viewing screen recordings, and themes were further examined through interviews and connected to survey data.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the study conclude about the value of VR-RTA compared with traditional retrospective methods?\",\"answer\":\"VR-RTA can capture in-the-moment considerations underlying decision-making during crime commission. It addresses limitations of interviews and surveys by improving memory-based information elicitation, and it supports criminological research using immersive technologies.\"}]","Crime Science - Virtual Reality-Based Retrospective Think-Aloud (VR-RTA) | PDF",43]