An analysis of the use of diaries as a data collection method.

Abstract

Diaries have been used for hundreds of years to record the events of people's everyday lives, hut more recently, they have gained popularity with health and social researchers as a data collection method. Diaries allow the researcher an unobtrusive way of tapping into the intimate areas of people's lives that may otherwise be closed. Much of health research can be of a sensitive nature and nurse researchers could make more use of diaries in the collection of data.