Validity and Reliability of the Experience-Sampling Method

Critical Analysis

In this text, the authors describe the Experience-Sampling Method (ESM) as a research tool for studying “the subjective experience of persons interacting in natural environments.”

Experience-Sampling Method is intended to avoid common shortcomings in other forms of research, such as minimizing retrospective analysis. To “obtain representative self-reports of experiential states, the ESM relies on an electronic instrument that emits stimulus signals according to a random schedule.” When received, participants write down various information about what they are doing and feeling in a questionnaire that they carry with them. Each interaction takes less than two minutes to complete.

The author describes the details of the ESM method. Participants receive 7-10 signals, for 7 consecutive days, which provides a systematic sampling of data suitable for generalization. More signals may be better, but the author notes that “the more that researchers have demanded of respondents, the fewer people have been willing to take part in the research.” The content is coded and logged.

At the time of writing, the authors had been using the ESM For ten years, and indicate that it “has proved to be a useful tool for psychological research.” It is a way for making the “variations of daily experience, long outside the domain of objectivity, available for analysis, replication, and falsifiability.” This is because it provides a description of the patterns of what are happening in everyday life.

It is a valuable method because it can reveal subjective parts of life that may not appear during a retrospective analysis.

Research Value

The value of this work in informing my own research is that it:

• Provides a detailed methodology and precedent for selfie or video-based interviews based on prompts
• Offers best practices for operating a prompt-based study