JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Recent advances in mobile technologies for sensing human biosignals are empowering researchers to collect real-world data outside of the laboratory in natural settings where participants can perform their daily activities with minimal disruption. These new sensing opportunities usher a host of challenges and constraints for both researchers and participants.

Objective:

This document provides a comprehensive guide aiding research teams in the selection and management of sensors before and during studies of human behavior in the wild. The guide aims to help researchers achieve satisfactory participant compliance and minimize the number of unexpected procedural outcomes.

Methods:

A collection of challenges, consideration criteria, and potential solutions for enabling researchers to select and manage appropriate sensors for their research studies is presented. A general data collection framework suitable for use with modern consumer sensors is explained that enables researchers to address many of the described challenges. Further, a description of the criteria impacting sensor selection, management, and integration that researchers should consider before beginning human behavior studies involving sensors is also provided. Based on a survey conducted in mid-2018, an organized snapshot of consumer-grade human sensing technologies that can be used for human behavior research in natural settings is illustrated.

Results:

The collection of methods are applied in a case study aiming to predict the well-being of nurses and other staff in a hospital. Average daily compliance for sensor usage measured by the presence of data exceeding half the total possible hours each day is about 65% yielding over 355 thousand hours of usable sensor data across 212 participants. Six notable unexpected events occurred during the data collection period all of which had minimal impact on the research project.

Conclusions:

The satisfactory compliance rates and minimal impact of unexpected events during the case study suggest that the challenges, criteria, methods, and mitigation strategies presented as a guide for researchers are helpful for sensor selection and management in longitudinal human behavior studies in the wild.