Digital Diary Studies for Longitudinal Field Research

Digital diary studies are a cost-effective, flexible, time-saving alternative to in-person, contextual, field research. Using remote UX tools (like Dscout or WhatsApp) on their mobile devices, people anywhere in the world self-report their in-the-moment activities, thoughts, and feelings around the topic of choice. Smart kitchens? Autonomous cars? A new streaming service? The list goes on. These longitudinal studies last anywhere from one week to a few months. 

Learn how to research using digital diary tools, micro-surveys, remote interviews, and activities to uncover rich data and keep participants actively engaged.

Topics Covered

• Digital ethnography (a.k.a. digital diary studies)
  • Why it is important
  • What it it
  • How is it done
• Diary study design
  • Running diary studies: how to set up, recruit for, moderate, and report
  • The best mobile ethnography tools to use in varying scenarios
  • Creating individual activities (aka ‘missions’), experiments, and micro surveys
  • Determine the right research goals for each ‘mission’ or stage of the study
• ‘Insight’ reviews (i.e. analysis and insight reporting cycles with specific research goals)
  • What they are
  • Why you should do them
  • When you should do them
  • How you should do them
• Recruiting participants
  • Panel creation: How to build and nurture a panel for ongoing feedback
  • How to keep the participants engaged and avoid traditional fall-off
  • The importance of building trust and rapport over time