Process / pipelineData collection

Diary Method — Research Diary Method

The diary method is a data-collection technique in which participants record their thoughts, behaviours, events, or experiences in their own words at regular or event-contingent intervals over a defined study period. By capturing data close in time to the event, diaries reduce retrospective recall bias and give researchers access to the texture of everyday life as it unfolds — something one-off surveys and retrospective interviews cannot provide.

Find Topic with PaperMindSoonVideoSoon

Read the full method

Members only

Sign in with a free account to read this section.

Sign in

Sources

  1. Alaszewski, A. (2006). Using Diaries for Social Research. Sage. ISBN: 978-0761941415
  2. Bolger, N., Davis, A., & Rafaeli, E. (2003). Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 579–616. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145030

Related methods

Referenced by

ScholarGateDiary Method (Research Diary Method). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/survey-methodology/diary-method