The purpose of this paper, and its accompanying project, is to investigate the question: how do we do research in virtual worlds? This paper will begin by reviewing some of the ways that research has been conducted in virtual worlds, followed by identifying a need within this domain, and concluding with an thorough analysis of Second Look, the project meant to attend to this identified need. Citation: Cocciolo, A., Chae, H. & Natriello, G. (2007, March). Second Look: A Research Platform for Second Life. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.