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Using Diary Studies to Deepen Understanding of User Behavior

Best practices for planning and conducting a diary study analysis

Eric Chung
UX Planet
7 min readMay 12, 2023

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

Have you ever wondered how your users interact with your product or service over a long period of time? Or how their needs and behaviors change over time? If so, a diary study might be just the research method you need.

In a diary study, participants self-report their experiences over a period of time, usually ranging from a few days to several weeks or even months. The goal of a diary study is to understand long-term user behavior and gain insights into their needs and pain points.

Why use a diary study? Well, for starters, diary studies allow for more naturalistic data collection in real-world settings. Participants are able to report on their experiences as they occur, without the interference of researchers or recall bias. Additionally, diary studies provide rich qualitative data, which can be complemented by quantitative data to provide a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior.

Types of diary studies

Diary studies are a flexible and versatile research method that can be adapted to a variety of research questions and contexts. Here are some of the most common types of diary studies:

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Written by Eric Chung

Writing about design, business, or whatever's on my mind

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