Diary study
Participants record their activities, experiences or emotions over a period at the moment they happen, using text, photos or audio.
What it’s for
It captures what happens over time and in places where you can’t be, without relying on memory.
Key elements
Close to the moment
It is recorded when it happens, not at the end of the day.
Over time
Days or weeks, to see changes and patterns.
Easy to record
Few questions, in a medium the person already uses.
How it’s done
Give the instructions. What to record, when and with what.
Follow along. Reminders and review of what comes in each day.
Close with an interview. Talk with each person about their diary.
Applications in design
When to use it
For habits, long processes or infrequent moments.
Avoid
Asking for too much each day: people stop writing.
Don’t fall for it
Review entries while the study runs, so you can fix unclear instructions in time.
Connections
Authors and works
- 1993
John Rieman
Used it to learn about real work with computers and to guide lab testing.
- 2003
Niall Bolger, Angelina Davis and Eshkol Rafaeli
Reviewed diary methods as a way to capture life as it is lived.
Sources
Original sources
- Rieman, J. (1993). The diary study: A workplace-oriented research tool to guide laboratory efforts. In Proceedings of the INTERACT '93 and CHI '93 Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 321–326). ACM. View source: Rieman, J. (1993)
Academic reviews
- Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 579–616. View source: Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003)
Last reviewed: