Diary and app compliance looks small until it is repeated. Frequency and timing windows matter more than the length of each entry.
If a diary is time stamped and tied to a strict window, treat it as a core requirement, not an add on.
What to clarify before you commit
Before enrolling, ask for the compliance threshold and how it is measured. Some protocols remove participants after a small number of misses. Others allow flexibility.
Also ask whether there is any make up process. In many studies, a missed window is final.
Specific questions that reveal diary burden
- How many entries per day, and what are the exact windows?
- How many misses are allowed before removal or unusable data?
- Is there a make up path if a window is missed?
- What happens if the app or device fails to sync?
- Does the diary requirement pause on weekends?
A realistic test is to simulate a day with alarms at the required times. If the alarms land during commuting, meetings, or sleep, the diary will create friction even if each entry is short.
Questions for the coordinator
- What is the compliance threshold and how strict is it?
- Which diary window is hardest for participants?
- If the app fails, what backup is accepted by protocol?
- What diary related issue causes the most dropouts?