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 viewpoint paper aims to provide a comprehensive guide to aid research teams in the selection and management of sensors before beginning and while conducting human behavior studies in the wild. The guide aims to help researchers achieve satisfactory participant compliance and minimize the number of unexpected procedural outcomes.
Methods
This paper presents a collection of challenges, consideration criteria, and potential solutions for enabling researchers to select and manage appropriate sensors for their research studies. It explains a general data collection framework suitable for use with modern consumer sensors, enabling researchers to address many of the described challenges. In addition, it provides a description of the criteria affecting sensor selection, management, and integration that researchers should consider before beginning human behavior studies involving sensors. On the basis of a survey conducted in mid-2018, this paper further illustrates an organized snapshot of consumer-grade human sensing technologies that can be used for human behavior research in natural settings.
Results
The research team applied the collection of methods and criteria to a …

Date

2019

Authors

Brandon M Booth, Karel Mundnich, Tiantian Feng, Amrutha Nadarajan, Tiago H Falk, Jennifer L Villatte, Emilio Ferrara, Shrikanth Narayanan

Journal

Journal of medical Internet research

Volume

21

Issue

8

Pages

e12832

Publisher

JMIR Publications