Diary Study

Also known as: Mobile Diary, Experience Sampling, Consumer Diary

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A Diary Study is a research methodology where participants systematically but spontaneously record their experiences, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions over time—days, weeks, or months—using written diaries, mobile apps, photos, or video.

Its advantage over interviews and focus groups is the capture of behaviors and experiences at the moment they occur (experience sampling), reducing retrospective memory error. It allows understanding the variability of everyday behavior and the evolution of perceptions over time.

It is especially useful for: understanding product use in natural daily life contexts, capturing the purchase decision journey in real time, and studying consumption habits and rituals.

Atlantia facilitates mobile diary studies as part of its digital ethnography and consumer insights projects.