Why ESM studies need open-ended responses alongside numeric ratings
Numeric rating scales dominate experience sampling, but they cannot capture context, idiosyncratic meaning, or a participant's own account of what caused a mood shift. A 2026 position paper by Bringmann and colleagues makes a systematic case for reintegrating open-ended text responses — here is what the argument rests on, what it costs in burden, and what it requires in consent and analysis.
SMAAT Team
11 min read
