Crisis changes us. It is and will continue to shift how we behave, how we live, and what we need. Learning as these shifts occur helps us understand what people are experiencing, and it helps us adapt too.
Diary studies allow us to follow along with individuals over time (not to mention giving us all a break from video interviews!). Here’s a COVID diary study template to run during the crisis. Customize it to your context and your participants. We made obvi free, so you have everything you need to get started now.
RESEARCH OVERVIEW
Who to include:
5-10 participants total
3 co-workers — add now and start!
5-6 customers — add later (post-screening)
This diary study is designed for people with smartphones and decent wifi. If you need a plan that’s friendly for cell phones and/or low-no-wifi, try a text-only study. If you want to research with individuals in a more distressed situation, you'll need to design a study appropriate for that context.
Research goal:
Understand their shelter-in-place experience and changing needs
Timeframe:
4 weeks
Assignment format:
2 assignment per week, 1 medium effort and 1 low effort
We expect participants to spend about an hour total doing the assignments in our diary study plan. More on assignment types and effort here.
Recommended Incentive:
$100+
This varies, depending on your audience, objectives, and how time-consuming you choose to make your assignments. Pay people fairly for their time.
COVID DIARY STUDY PLAN
Week 1
Assignment 1: The ice-breaker
Hi [first-name]! Please tell us in a short video a little about you and the COVID-19 situation in your area.
Assignment 2: Mood-o-meter
It’s Friday! Please text us an emoji of how you’re feeling today and tell us why.
Tip: Customize any assignment automatically with the participant’s name by typing code [first-name]
Week 2
Assignment 3: Your life
We want to know about the impact that COVID has had on you. Send us 3 photos that show how your day-to-day life has changed and tell us what’s happening in each one.
Assignment 4: Mood-o-meter
It’s Friday! 🙌 Please text us an emoji of how you’re feeling today and tell us why.
Tip: Yup, in addition to receiving emojis, you can send them too.
Week 3
💰time: Issue a halfway incentive payment. If Amazon makes sense for your participants, you can pay for and issue gift codes directly in the app.
Assignment 5: Your relationships
Has social distancing affected your relationships, [first-name]? Tell us in a short video who you’re keeping in touch with and how.
Assignment 6: Mood-o-meter
It’s Friday! Please text us an emoji of how you’re feeling today and tell us why.
Week 4
Assignment 7: New discoveries
Have you started any new activities, hobbies, or routines as a result of social distancing? Text us about them and send 2-3 photos or screenshots.
Assignment 8: Mood-o-meter
It’s Friday! 🎉 Please text us an emoji of how you’re feeling today and tell us why.
Mark your participants as Complete and issue their final payments.
MOVING FORWARD
Treat your participants with extra compassion and be rewarded with amazing, thought-provoking insight into how the crisis is impacting lives. Follow along and adapt as necessary. Let us know how your COVID diary study goes! Need more ideas on remote research? Check out our article on remote methods here.
