Digital Diaries as a Research Method for Capturing Practices in Situ

Abstract

Digital diaries emerge as viable methods for capturing situated practices in research participants’ natural environments. This chapter reviews what has been learned about the affordances of diary studies from various research traditions and describes the researchers’ use of the digital diary method in different research contexts. Specifically explored is the use of digital diaries by drawing on the application of the method in studying nomadic work practices and how they help to reveal contextual details of nomadic work. The chapter thus outlines an ‘interposed approach’ where diary studies are preceded and succeeded by interviews with participants. Finally, the practical opportunities and challenges of conducting digital diaries are described.