Mobile Diary Method — Capturing Lived Experience via Smartphone

The Mobile Diary Method is a longitudinal self-report technique in which participants record their thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or events using a smartphone app or mobile platform over a defined study period — ranging from days to months. Rooted in the classic diary method and the Experience Sampling Method, its mobile form enables real-time, in-context capture of experience, dramatically reducing retrospective recall bias compared to one-shot surveys or end-of-day questionnaires.