Face-to-face Research Diary

A face-to-face research diary is a systematic reflexive log maintained by the researcher during in-person fieldwork. Unlike participant diaries, this is the researcher's own running record of observations, analytic thoughts, methodological decisions, and emotional responses captured during or immediately after direct, embodied encounters with participants or field settings. It serves simultaneously as a data source, an audit trail, and a reflexivity instrument within qualitative research.