ExperienceSampler

"We used the Experience Sampler project to collect data on several hundred students' stress and emotions. We asked questions with both multiple choice and free text responses. The use of Cordova was great for two reasons: 1) given experience in web development, it was simple to write code in JavaScript and customize the look and feel of the app with CSS, and 2) the app could run on both Android and iOS devices, covering the majority of our participants, but we only had to maintain one set of files. Once participants had the app installed, we were able to collect data reliably throughout the week from both Android and iOS devices."

"In our study we were examining athletes’ experiences of stress, emotions, and emotion regulation over a 10-day period. For our study purposes, we required a mobile app that could be programmed to deliver scheduled surveys to athletes on a daily basis, and we needed it to be easy for participants to complete at any time. Experience Sampler was valuable for our project because of the flexibility of its design – the research team had complete control over the way the surveys were delivered to athletes and the design of the questions that we used. Some key features for us included: participants’ ability to complete the surveys on their phones even if they were offline (data would be stored and uploaded when the participant was connected to the internet); the option for participants to delay their surveys and receive a reminder/alert at a later time; and the program also features automatic emailing and reminders to be able to follow up with participants during the data collection period. Following data collection, the data processing was relatively simple and we had excellent support from the designers during the entire process. An added benefit of Experience Sampler is that it is completely open-source and available to anyone to support their research needs, which alleviates the financial demands associated with subscribing to other mobile or online survey app services."

"I used ExperienceSampler to collect experience sampling data tracking people's daily exposure to racially diverse others, their use of race in daily conversations, and the rationales they had for using race in conversations throughout the day. Generally, it was easy to program and follow directions, despite a few hiccups due to software/programming updates, and few programming logic that I'm less familiar with. With my limited experience in programming (only with syntax in statistical software like SPSS or MPlus), I was able to program my own customized study. Anyone who has some experience with using syntax or logic programming and open to learning more about technology should be able to utilize this program. Where there are few and far between apps that can host customized survey collection that isn't extremely overpriced, ExperienceSampler fills that gap."

"We discovered ExperienceSampler when we were desperately searching for a reliable, scalable, and low-cost tool for our research. ExperienceSampler has met all our needs and it is in the spirit of open software and science. Thanks to its great flexibility, we were able to collect large and high-quality data in a diverse range of projects, from experience sampling to mobile intervention studies in the field. It has gained popularity within our research group and many students are working with it as well. You will need to learn some programming, but believe us, you will love your new skills!"

• Three large ESM studies on trait self-control, chronotype and daily affects (Chao Zhang, Daniël Lakens, Karin Smolders)
• One intervention study to promote a better oral health routine (Chao Zhang, Daniël Lakens)

If you would like to share your experience using ExperienceSampler, please send us your testimonial!