Diary study
What is a diary study?
Diary studies are a qualitative method for collecting data about what people have done or felt when interacting with a product or service. Diary studies account for the user experience over time, allowing researchers to evaluate, study and understand how a system is adopted and integrated into a person’s everyday life. Unlike field observations, the diary study does not require the presence of an observer (thus limiting observational or acquiescence bias). As a design researcher, we want to capture the experience as close to the real thing as possible and not the one that is influenced by a controlled environment. The data collected helps us understand the users, their activities or the context in which they are located.
Key elements of a diary study
1. Situations for using a diary study.
Diary studies are useful to:
- Evaluate prototypes during development
- Evaluate an existing service or product to understand what can be improved
- Explore the uses and habits of people and derive ideas, inspirations or specifications for the design of a new system
2. Manage a diary study.
In terms of content, the diary study generally gathers factual data (date, time, place, activity) and subjective data (feelings, emotions, mood …). Whether in paper or electronic format, this method requires motivated and conscientious participants who will have the rigor to enter their data frequently and regularly. the participants will fill in the diary study according to the chosen protocol:
- at intervals
- as soon as a signal asks them to do so
- whenever a predefined event occurs Diary studies do not require a large number of participants. To gather great insights, it is advisable to recruit at least 12 to 15 persons.
Resources
From external sources
- Lallemand, C. (2012). Dear Diary: Using Diaries to Study User Experience. User Experience Magazine, 11(3)
- Diary Studies: Understanding Long-Term User Behavior and Experiences
- Davis et Rafaeli (2003). Diary method: Capturing Life as it is Lived
Last updated by Antoine on Apr 29, 2019