Using diaries and self-writings as data in psychological research (original) (raw)

Using Diaries - A Real Challenge for the Social Scientist

This article is divided into two main parts and aims, on the one hand, at explaining the origins and chronology of the phenomenon called the "diary", and on the other hand, at the sociological aspects of its use and role in social research. It intends to shed a new light on the historical, methodological, epistemological and ethical challenges facing the social scientist when choosing to use diaries for qualitative knowledge of social life.

Diaries: Who Keeps Them and Why

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1996

Sutnmary.-Direcred diary keeping is an important method of gathering data for various therapeutic and research purposes. Little information, however, has been collected on spontaneously kept diaries. A questionnaire relating to personal diary keeping and five personality inventories were administered to 101 undergraduates. Analysis suggested that women keep diaries more often and at an earlier age than men. Also, information regarding diary content and reasons for starting and stopping a diary are discussed. Surprisingly, scores on personahty inventories were not significantly ddFerent for respondenrs who had kept a diary than scores for those who had not.

The Truth in a Personal Diary

Teksty Drugie, 2014

Author num erous publications, including the recent book M iędzy zapisem a literaturą. D ziennik polskiego pisarza w XX wieku.

Diary methods: Capturing life as it is lived

Annual Review of Psychology, 2003

Key Words experience sampling method, longitudinal designs, electronic data collection, self-report measures, multilevel models s 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.

Influence of recorder affect on the content of behavioural diaries and the recall of behaviours

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2001

Two experiments are described. In Experiment 1, supervisors (N 4) kept daily performance diaries for each of four subordinates over an eight-week period. In Experiment 2, students (N 48) kept behavioural diaries for their instructor over a three-week period. Daily measures of positive and negative affect were used to predict the favourability, person-typicality and behavioural speci®city of diary entries. Diary-keepers tended to record behaviours that were consistent with their affect levels. Analyses of the variability of the favourability and person-typicality ratings further suggested that high negative affect induced diary-keepers to make ®ne discriminations among events, while high positive affect induced diary-keepers to perceive events as similar. Diary-keeper affect and the three diary content variables were used to predict memory for the diary entries. Diary-keepers in Experiment 1 reported higher recall for negative behaviours than for positive behaviours, particularly if the behaviours were typical of others. This same negativity effect in recall emerged in Experiment 2, but only when there was low consistency in the positive affect experienced by diarykeepers at encoding and recall.

Diaries and fieldnotes in the research process

Research issues in art design and media, 2001

The aim of this issue is to consider one form of research writing that has received relatively little attention, yet which is central to the research process, especially, but not exclusively, for those conducting qualitative or action research studies - the research diary. Research diaries ...