Corti (1993) makes a distinction between two types of researcher-driven diary:

Valid and reliable diaries
Quantitative and qualitative diaries
Structured and free-text diaries
Open or closed answer diaries
Structured and free-text diaries  ”Research in focus 10.1″, on page 238, shows how a diary study can be used to gather data for social research. Both quantitative and qualitative data can be gathered using this method but it is not a form of questionnaire, so there are no “answers”, whether open or closed. Rather, people are selected (perhaps randomly) for a sample and asked to keep a diary of their activities over a period of time. Depending on how the concept has been operationalized, diaries are as likely to have measurement validity as any other data-gathering instrument. Corti (1993) thinks it worthwhile to see diaries as being either ‘structured’ or ‘free-text’ (p238). Furthermore, diarists should be given explicit instructions on how to keep the diaries and shown a model of a completed diary section (Corti, 1993, cited on page 239).
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 238,239
Self-administered questionnaires Author: rikazzz

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The ‘time-use’ diary can provide quantitative data about:
A. The amount of time respondents spend on certain activities every day
B. The subjective meanings that concepts of ‘time’ have for different people
C. The way respondents make sense of their life stories in narrative form
D. The historical significance of clocks, watches and other devices for measuring time
In order to identify response sets in a Likert scale, you could:
A. Pre-code all items consistently from 1-5
B. Reverse the scoring of pre-coded answers
C. Only include items about socially desirable behaviours
D. Include explicit instructions to respondents not to deceive you
When using a Likert scale with a long list of items, it is usually better to:
A. Arrange the answers horizontally, in abbreviated form
B. List the answers vertically, for each consecutive item
C. Omit any instructions about how to select an answer
D. List all questions on one page and all answers on another
One of the advantages of self-completion questionnaires over structured interviews is that:
A. They are quicker and cheaper to administer
B. They create interviewer effects
C. They have greater measurement validity
D. They are less prone to inter-coder variation
Why is it generally better to present fixed choice answers in vertical rather than horizontal form?
A. It takes up less space on the page
B. It encourages respondents to choose more than one answer
C. It allows questions to be spread over more than one page
D. It makes the layout of the questionnaire more clear and unambiguous
One advantage of using diaries in quantitative research is that:
A. There is a reduced risk of attrition, as respondents tend to be highly motivated
B. They are likely to elicit data about sensitive issues or deviant activities
C. They highlight the thoughts, feelings and experiences that are unique to each respondent
D. None of the above
Which of the following steps can be taken to improve response rates to postal questionnaires?
A. Write a personalized covering letter to introduce the research
B. Enclose a stamped addressed envelope with a postal questionnaire
C. Send out polite reminder letters
D. All of the above

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