TAMLIN CONNER CHRISTENSEN, LISA FELDMAN BARRETT, ELIZA BLISS-MOREAU, KIRSTEN LEBO and CYNTHIA KASCHUB A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EXPERIENCE-SAMPLING PROCEDURES

Experience-sampling is a powerful method for understanding a range of psychological phenomena as they occur in the daily lives of individuals. In this primer, we discuss the different techniques, equipment, and design options available to the experience-sampling researcher. We place special emphasis on computerized procedures and discuss the crucial social dynamic of the research team, which optimizes the success of experience-sampling procedures. Launching an experience-sampling study provides a challenge to even the most seasoned researcher. The term “experience-sampling” refers to a set of empirical methods that are designed to allow respondents to document their thoughts, feelings, and actions outside the walls of a laboratory and within the context of everyday life. In addition to the standard array of issues that beset any empirical study, experiencesampling procedures bring with them unique design, implementation, and methodological issues. For example, experience-sampling designs vary in terms of when events are sampled (at fixed intervals, randomly throughout the day, or in response to some event; for reviews see Reis and Gable, 2000; Reis and Wheeler, 1991), how these designs are implemented (computerized vs. paper-and-pencil measures), and for how long they are implemented (from a few days to a month). In this article, we address these and other issues in an effort to provide a hands-on, step-by-step guide to designing and implementing an experience sampling study. We pay special attention to the use of electronic recording devices, like palmtop computers and personal data assistants (PDAs) (also see Feldman Barrett and Barrett, 2001; Shiffman, 2000). In this way, we hope to supplement the many detailed reviews of experience-sampling procedures that currently exist (see Bolger et al., 2003; Csikszentmihalyi and Larson, 1987; de Vries et al., 1990; Delespaul, 1992; Hormuth, 1986; Hurlburt, 1997; Reis and Gable, 2000; Shiffman, 2000; Stone et al., 1991; Stone and Shiffman, 1994; Wheeler and Reis, 1991). We organize this article around seven steps integral for running a successful experience-sampling study (see Table I). Steps 1–3 discuss Journal of Happiness Studies 4: 53–78, 2003. © 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 54 T. CONNER CHRISTENSEN ET AL. TABLE I Checklist for designing and implementing an experience-sampling study