TY - JOUR
T1 - The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR)
T2 - A Method for the Naturalistic Observation of Daily Social Behavior
AU - Mehl, Matthias R.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - This article reviews the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) as an ambulatory ecological momentary assessment tool for the real-world observation of daily behavior. Technically, the EAR is an audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds while participants go about their lives. Conceptually, it is a naturalistic observation method that yields an acoustic log of a person’s day as it unfolds. The power of the EAR lies in unobtrusively collecting authentic real-life observational data. In preserving a high degree of naturalism at the level of the raw recordings, it resembles ethnographic methods; through its sampling and coding, it enables larger empirical studies. This article provides an overview of the EAR method; reviews its validity, utility, and limitations; and discusses it in the context of current developments in ambulatory assessment, specifically the emerging field of mobile sensing.
AB - This article reviews the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) as an ambulatory ecological momentary assessment tool for the real-world observation of daily behavior. Technically, the EAR is an audio recorder that intermittently records snippets of ambient sounds while participants go about their lives. Conceptually, it is a naturalistic observation method that yields an acoustic log of a person’s day as it unfolds. The power of the EAR lies in unobtrusively collecting authentic real-life observational data. In preserving a high degree of naturalism at the level of the raw recordings, it resembles ethnographic methods; through its sampling and coding, it enables larger empirical studies. This article provides an overview of the EAR method; reviews its validity, utility, and limitations; and discusses it in the context of current developments in ambulatory assessment, specifically the emerging field of mobile sensing.
KW - ambulatory assessment
KW - ecological momentary assessment
KW - naturalistic observation
KW - smartphone sensing
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U2 - 10.1177/0963721416680611
DO - 10.1177/0963721416680611
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85018760136
SN - 0963-7214
VL - 26
SP - 184
EP - 190
JO - Current Directions in Psychological Science
JF - Current Directions in Psychological Science
IS - 2
ER -