Getting Real: A Naturalistic Methodology for Using Smartphones to Collect Mediated Communications

This paper contributes an intentionally naturalistic methodology using smartphone logging technology to study communicationsin the wild. Smartphone logging can provide tremendous access to communications data from real environments. However,researchers must consider how it is employed to preserve naturalistic behaviors. Nine considerations are presented to thisend. We also provide a description of a naturalistic logging approach that has been applied successfully to collecting mediatedcommunications from iPhones. The methodology was designed to intentionally decrease reactivity and resulted in data that weremore accurate than self-reports. Example analyses are also provided to show how data collected can be analyzed to establishempirical patterns and identify user differences. Smartphone logging technologies offer flexible capabilities to enhance access toreal communications data, but methodologies employing these techniques must be designed appropriately to avoid provokingnaturally occurring behaviors. Functionally, this methodology can be applied to establish empirical patterns and test specifichypotheses within the field of HCI research. Topically, this methodology can be applied to domains interested in understandingmediated communications such as mobile content and systems design, teamwork, and social networks