Mobile Devices as Tools for Media and Communication Research: A Scoping Review on Collecting Self-report Data in Repeated Measurement Designs

Mobile devices are deeply embedded in people's everyday lives. On the one hand, this opens up a new field for media and communication research. On the other hand, the widespread diffusion allows for integrating mobile devices into our methodological toolkit. Researchers across the globe have creatively started to take advantage of these new opportunities in the past years. One area of development is building upon the tradition of repeated self-report measurements like Experience Sampling Method, Ecological Momentary Assessment, Diary Method, or Real-Time Response Measurement. In order to map the advances in this area, we conducted a scoping review based on English academic peer-reviewed articles. Findings suggest that terminology and methodological standards are still blurred, and standardization is needed in order to further the methodological discussion on mobile self-report data collection methods in repeated measurement designs. Based on the results of our scoping review, we propose a typology as well as reporting standards and discuss data analytical challenges.