Digital Biomarkers of Meaning in Everyday Life: A N-of-1 Study
Additional information
Type of assignment: BSc. thesis
Internal/external: Internal
How many students? 3
Supervision: Either individually or in (sub)groups
Includes data collection? Yes
Type of research: Observational study with Experience Sampling Method
Number of ECTS? 15 ECTS
Research assignment
In this assignment, students will investigate whether digital biomarkers passively sensed with mobile Apps (e.g., sensor data, physical and screen activity) can predict meaning in everyday life (Heintzelman & Mohideen, 2022). This will be measured with experience sampling methods (Mestdagh et al., 2023; Myin‐Germeys et al., 2018) over a period of two weeks, alongside related constructs like openness, creativity, and psychological well-being. Analyses will be performed with existing protocols for N-of-1 observational data (McDonald et al. 2020).
Who do we look for?
We are looking for students with a can-do attitude and who are problem solvers. Interest in using technology to support and promote mental health is highly desirable.
References
Heintzelman, S. J., & Mohideen, F. (2022, December). Leveraging the Experience Sampling Method to Study Meaning in Everyday Life. In Meaning in Life International Conference 2022-Cultivating, Promoting, and Enhancing Meaning in Life Across Cultures and Life Span (MIL 2022) (pp. 41-56). Atlantis Press.
McDonald, S., Vieira, R., & Johnston, D. W. (2020). Analysing N-of-1 observational data in health psychology and behavioural medicine: a 10-step SPSS tutorial for beginners. Health psychology and behavioral medicine, 8(1), 32-54.
Mestdagh, M., Verdonck, S., Piot, M., Niemeijer, K., Kilani, G., Tuerlinckx, F., ... & Dejonckheere, E. (2023). m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice. Frontiers in digital health, 5, 1182175.
Myin‐Germeys, I., Kasanova, Z., Vaessen, T., Vachon, H., Kirtley, O., Viechtbauer, W., & Reininghaus, U. (2018). Experience sampling methodology in mental health research: new insights and technical developments. World Psychiatry, 17(2), 123-132.