SWB Daily Diary Study

What does SWB stand for?

SWB stands for 'subjective well-being' and refers to a person's own sense of wellness (e.g., how happy and satisfied you are with your life). There is no single measure of SWB. Instead, when psychological researchers study well-being, they often choose to focus on particular aspects of SWB. This includes but is not limited to: satisfaction with life in general, satisfaction with specific aspects of life (e.g., relationships, work, school, etc.), how often one experiences positive and negative emotions, and a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

In our study, we have chosen to focus on emotions, daily satisfaction, and satisfaction with various aspects of life.

What is a daily diary study?

A daily diary study requires participants to complete brief surveys each day for a specified period of time. This period of time can span several weeks, but often ranges between 1 to 3 weeks. This type of research is ideal for studying day-to-day changes in the subjective well-being of individuals..

How long is the SWB Daily Diary Study?

The SWB Daily Diary Study requires participation for a minimum of eight days. After completing the study, you will have the option to continue for as many weeks as you wish. The table below outlines the course of the study.

When do I get my feedback?

You will be presented with your feedback after completing the Final Survey. We will show you graphs that chart your well-being over the week you participated so you can see how much your well-being varies from day to day. We will also show you how your daily satisfaction is related to your satisfaction with other areas of your life.

Why should I participate for more than 1 week?

The more daily surveys you complete, the better you will be able to see whether there are any stable and consistent patterns in your well-being. If you complete a second and third week, you will be able to view feedback that includes all of the surveys you completed over the the two- or three-week period.

What time each day should I complete the survey?

Ideally, you should complete each daily survey anytime after 8:00pm (your local time) but no later than 8:00am of the next day. For example, any survey that you complete between 8pm on Monday and 8am on Tuesday should refer to how you felt during Monday. That way, your assessment of the day will reflect a more complete range of events.

What happens if I miss a day?

If you miss the 12-hour window (from 8pm to 8am), the day that you missed should simply be skipped. For example, if it is 8:30am on Tuesday and you missed Monday's survey, just skip Monday and wait until the evening to take Tuesday's survey.

Do I have to wait until Day 8 to take the Final Survey?

Yes. The day that you begin the study (or any day you start a new week) is counted as Day 1. The Final Survey only appears after 7 or more days have passed from the first survey you took. Even if you miss a day or two, the Final Survey will be scheduled for exactly 7 days after you began a week of surveys.

Do I have to adjust the time before taking each survey?

No. We enable time adjustment only because occasional discrepancies might arise depending on where you live. Our website operates on U.S. Eastern Standard Time and observes Daylight Savings Time (DST). Because not all countries observe DST, there may be times when you will have to re-adjust the hour to accurately reflect your location.