Development and Trial of a Mobile Experience Sampling Method (m-ESM) for Personal Music Listening

The measurement of everyday music use remains a challenge for researchers, with many of the available methodologies limited by intrusiveness or lack of ecological validity. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) addresses such limitations by assessing current subjective experience at various times throughout participants’ everyday functioning. The aim of the current project was to develop and trial a mobile ESM (m-ESM) capable of collecting event-related data during natural listening episodes. This methodology was designed to maintain a natural and familiar listening experience for participants, and to collect real-time data on personal music listening. An application (app) was created which utilized mobile-device technology, and allowed combination of experience sampling with a personal music player. Analyses were performed on trial data from 101 participants to determine the efficacy of the m-ESM. Results indicated that this methodology would maintain ecological validity and cause minimal intrusion into everyday activities of the listener. Questionnaires were answered immediately at the time of listening, minimizing the problem of retrospective recall biases. This innovative methodology allows for the collection of a wealth of listening data that will advance the accurate measurement of everyday, personal music listening.