Presentation about on and offline diaries, TQR2013 conference, January 18-19 Fort Lauderdale Florida

1. Learning about
everyday and future
ICT practices:
with or without
online diaries?
Dr. Wendy Van den Broeck
Dr. An Jacobs
Bram Lievens

2. Overview
 Introduction: iMinds-SMIT
 Commissioned diaries as a research tool
 SMIT choices
 Research cases
 Lessons learned from comparison

4. Commissioned diaries as research tool
 Literature:
 Direct reporting of hard to remember data
leads to more exhaustive and accurate data
 Data that is not directly observable
(time/context)
 Open format or more structured
 Part of tradition of auto-collecting methods
(audio, visual)

6. Cases to be compared
3D-TV 2.0.

7. Variation in the cases
•Target population
• Online <-> offline <-> combination
• New technology or existing practices
and experiences
• Format diary: event based, time based
or combination
•Amount and character of questions

10. 3D-TV 2.0.
• 18 households – 40 participants
•Event based logging of 3D sessions (video content &
gaming) + evaluation of 3D experience (scale and open
questions)
•2x diary week: TV and gaming behavior: choice online or
offline

12. IM3 (Interactive Mobile Medical
monitoring)
 12 people with chronic heart failure
 Offline diary and auto-collection of pictures
 Intake and follow up interview
 4 weeks total, 2 weeks diary
 Open ended & closed questions
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13. Video Q-sac
 Usage of video-material on different screens in
the home
 40 households/100 respondents
 Profile questionnaire and picture inventory of
multimedia
 Online or offline diary and follow up interview
 2 years total, 1 week diary
 Open ended and closed questions
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14. 14

16. Tiro
 ICT in the life of young people
 Panel study
 34 participants aged 12-18
 10 months
 Online diary sent by mail or MSN – weekly
reflection on their ICT usage
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17. Lessons learned from comparison
(Johnson &Blytheway, 2001)
1. Representation: to what extent did it put potential participants off?
2. Difficulties: were some participants unable to complete the diary
due to impairments or limited skills?
3. Quality of data: how consistent, adequate and accurate was the
diary as a method to record daily events and actions?
4. Influencing behavior:
did keeping a diary influence behavior?
5. Online or offline
6. Ethical considerations:
did the completion of the diary cause some
undue distress, anxiety or inconvenience?
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18. Representation:
burden of the auto-collective method
 No difference in experienced burden offline <->online (exception:
double entries)
 Limited amount of clear questions (example answers)
 Type of information? Written down (structured) or called in
(experiences)
 Video-Q sac: confronting media behavior
 3D-TV: 3D as ‘event’
 TIRO: reporting on repetitive behavior
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19. Difficulties with filling in the diaries:
impairment and skill
 Online: tablet/computer access and skill
 Camera: instructions
 Elderly: writing culture versus visual,physical
impairment
 Ehealth projects:
stress factor
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20. Quality of the data:
consistency, adequacy, accuracy
 Quantitative information: logging
 Diary: qualitative data; representations
 Open ended questions depends on willingness
ofrespondent
 Importance of opening question: average day?
 Necessity of follow up interview
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21. Influencing behavior
 Social desirability bias
 Future behavior: e.g.
Watch less tv
 Higher usage pattern in
order to be ‘good
user/participant’
 Ehealth research and
compliance to social
standard of ‘good
patient’ 21

22. Ethical considerations:
stress, anxiety and inconvenience
 Open research role – inform when recruiting -
trust
 Informed consent
 Stressful life events and data collection: e.g.
IM3
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23. Online or offline
 Participants:
 Preference for offline
 Nice lay-out/object as incentive
 Provides opportunity for additional remarks more easily
 Easy to take: size matters
 Time - availability
 Dependent upon normal everyday ICT use (online already –
switching between devices?)
 Researchers:
 Number of participants influences choice
 Online: data is already digital
 Offline: additional comments – easy to take to interview
 Alternatives: call-in, video reporting, …
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24. Q&A
Thank you!
Contact information:
http://smit.vub.ac.be
wendy.van.den.broeck@vub.ac.be
an.jacobs@vub.ac.be
Bram.lievens@vub.ac.be
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