Blog
Research insights, ESM/EMA tutorials, and practical guides for smartphone-based studies.
EMA vs ESM vs DRM: which intensive-longitudinal method when
ESM, EMA, and DRM are often used interchangeably but answer different questions. A practical decision guide.
April 13, 2026
A GDPR-compliant checklist for mobile research data collection
Twelve checks to run before launching a mobile research study with EU participants — from lawful basis to data-subject rights.
April 6, 2026
Power analysis for intensive longitudinal designs
Why standard G*Power calculations underpower ESM studies, and how to think about effective sample size when each participant contributes many observations.
March 30, 2026
How to recruit participants for diary studies — 10 tactics that work
Practical recruitment tactics for ESM and diary studies, ranked by yield per hour of researcher time.
March 23, 2026
Adding cognitive tasks to an ESM study: what to use, when, and how
Cognitive tasks turn a survey-only ESM study into a richer behavioural assay. A practical guide to common tasks and when to add them.
March 16, 2026
Notification schedules that don't burn out participants
The five schedule types, when each is appropriate, and the parameters that determine whether your participants are still engaged on day 10.
March 9, 2026
Designing your first experience-sampling study: a step-by-step guide
A practical guide to scoping, designing, and validating your first ESM/EMA study — from research question to pilot.
March 2, 2026
Compliance monitoring in ambulatory-assessment studies — a practical playbook
How to monitor compliance in real time, what thresholds matter, and when to intervene with low-compliers before your study is unrecoverable.
February 23, 2026
Five EMA study templates you can clone today: mental health, sleep, social, behavioural economics, cognition
Five peer-reviewed-style EMA templates available in SMAAT, with the design decisions behind each.
February 16, 2026
Comparing ESM platforms in 2026: SMAAT, Avicenna, ExpiWell, Samply, MetricWire
An honest, factual comparison of the major mobile ESM platforms in 2026 — features, pricing, and where each fits best.
February 9, 2026