Abstract
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.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 184-190 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Current Directions in Psychological Science |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2017 |
Keywords
- ambulatory assessment
- ecological momentary assessment
- naturalistic observation
- smartphone sensing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology
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