Digital Diaries: A Qualitative Tool to Capture Participants' Experiences

• In Event: 34.079 - Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: 34.079-5 - Critical Perspectives on Digital Tools in Qualitative Research

Abstract

This paper explores the methodological complexities of using digital technology to adapt well-established modes of qualitative data collection such as diaries or journals (Alaszewski, 2006). Our work examines the conceptualization and implementation of digital diaries from first generation, low-income students participating in a longitudinal study of a college access and success program. Our paper provides readers with an overview of video based diaries as a mode of data collection, offers information on the ways in which video has influenced the conceptualization of dairies, and concludes with insights from our experiences in developing and employing digital diaries as a mode of ongoing data collection.

Authors

• Ronald Hallett, University of the Pacific

• Joseph Kitchen, University of Southern California

• Rosemary J. Perez, Iowa State University