This approach aims to assess what is happening during a person’s everyday activities with much less intrusion than in the mobile laboratory approach.
Tests are set up on a smartphone, which could be the user’s own, or could be provided for the specific project. Assessments are generally done at least daily, and usually several times a day. The timing of assessments can be done in two ways. The first is to give users instructions as to when to initiate an assessment, such as when you first get up in the morning; immediately after breakfast; and so on. The second is to give the user an alarm or message when an assessment is due. Assessments may be at fixed times, or made at random times to build up a more complete profile of the user’s performance during the day.
This approach is referred to as Ecological Momentary Assessment, and was originally used for sampling of daily experience and behaviour using diary-type data collection. Studies of everyday cognition often include a diary element as well as the tests, for example “How did you sleep last night” or “How many drinks have you had today?”
We generally build a custom app that is tailored to a specific study or project. Please contact us for more details.