Diary Methods: Capturing Life as it is Lived

Abstract

In diary studies, people provide frequent reports on the events and experiences of their daily lives. These reports capture the particulars of experience in a way that is not possible using traditional designs. We review the types of research questions that diary methods are best equipped to answer, the main designs that can be used, current technology for obtaining diary reports, and appropriate data analysis strategies. Major recent developments include the use of electronic forms of data collection and multilevel models in data analysis. We identify several areas of research opportunities: 1. in technology, combining electronic diary reports with collateral measures such as ambulatory heart rate; 2. in measurement, switching from measures based on between-person differences to those based on within-person changes; and 3. in research questions, using diaries to (a) explain why people differ in variability rather than mean level, (b) study change processes during major events and transitions, and (c) study interpersonal processes using dyadic and group diary methods.

"Did you have a nice evening?" A day-level study on recovery experiences, sleep, and affect.

“…We assessed positive activation with six positive affect items from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; "active," "interested," "excited," "strong," "inspired," and "alert"; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), serenity with four items ("calm," "relaxed," "laid-back," and "placid") from a measure developed by Abele-Brehm and Brehm (1986), negative activation with six negative affect items from the PANAS ("distressed," "upset," "irritable," "nervous," "jittery," and "afraid"), and fatigue with four items from the Profiles of Mood Scales ("fatigued," "tired," "exhausted," "spent"; We assessed daily hassles during evenings and sleep duration as day-level control variables. We measured daily hassles in the bedtime survey with nine 5-point Likert items adapted from the measure developed by Bolger et al (2003;g. "Today I had an argument with my spouse").…”

Cognitive Vulnerability–Stress Model of Depression During Adolescence: Investigating Depressive Symptom Specificity in a Multi-Wave Prospective Study

“…HLM is a rigorous approach for approaching these questions because it can represent both change within a person over multiple time points while also ascertaining how individuals may differ from one another in symptom trajectories over time (Bolger et al 2003;Curran and Willoughby 2003).…”

Daily negative interactions and mood among patients and partners dealing with multiple sclerosis (MS): The moderating effects of emotional support

“…A diary method is an appropriate instrument to address the emotional reaction elicited by negative responses received from the partner during the course of daily life (Bolger, Davis, & Rafaeli, 2003). Mood was taken as an outcome measure because it has been found to be sensitive to distress provoked by daily occurrences such as support interactions (Stone, 1997;Stone, Neale, & Shiffman, 1993).…”