The sampling of experiences in situ

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Abstract
The experience sampling method (ESM) attempts to sample randomly from people's everyday experiences Typically, subjects carry beepers and report their experiences immediately following a signal ESM stresses ecological validity and potentially permits the study of the stream of thought or behavior Within personality psychology, ESM allows for the investigation of interactions between person and situation variables without some of the limitations of other approaches A detailed presentation of the practical issues involved in the use of ESM is included, along with a discussion of some procedural and technological variants An assessment of the method discusses issues of data quality and validity, possible other areas of application for the method, as well as limitations that require the continued empirical assessment and future refinements of the method