As obvious as it may sound, the essence of human experience - our thoughts, emotions, behaviours and social interactions - plays out in the course of everyday life.

Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) is the gold standard for studying people's experiences in their everyday environments. In this third edition of The Open Handbook, experts from the Center for Research on Experience Sampling and Ambulatory Methods Leuven (REAL) provide up-to-date, empirically based advice for designing, conducting and analysing ESM studies.

This comprehensive guide walks readers through every step of ESM research: from formulating research questions and optimally designing ESM studies and questionnaires, to addressing ethical considerations and practical issues such as power calculations, software choices and briefing/debriefing procedures. It also covers preprocessing and analysing intensive longitudinal data and explores future applications of ESM.

Each chapter of this third edition has been updated with the latest methodological developments and insights, and a new chapter on dyadic ESM research has been added. Ideal for both novice and expert researchers, this handbook is an invaluable resource for anyone embarking on ESM research.

Inez Myin-Germeys is a psychologist and Professor of Contextual Psychiatry at KU Leuven where she heads the Center for Contextual Psychiatry. Her research focuses on the interaction between the person and the environment in the development and maintenance of psychopathology in general, and psychosis in particular.
Peter Kuppens is Professor of Psychology at the Research Group of Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences at KU Leuven. His research focuses on the nature, regulation, and dynamics of emotional experience both within and between individuals, and how these relate to psychological well-being and mood disorder.