---
title: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)
description: "This refers to collection of data from participants at various times of day in their everyday lives. #### Details This goes back into the 20th Century when bleeps or 'phone calls were sometimes used to prompt participants to complete data…"
url: "https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/ecological-momentary-assessment-ema/"
updated: "2026-06-01"
category: All OM book glossary entries
---

# Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)

This refers to collection of data from participants at various times of day in their everyday lives.

#### Details

This goes back into the 20th Century when bleeps or 'phone calls were sometimes used to prompt participants to complete data collection forms. Now it is more often achieved via smartphones and apps. The obvious gain over more traditional change measures is the "momentary" aspect and the way that data collection is embedded into people's everyday lives. The down sides are that it may be experienced as intrusive and perhaps that we have, as yet, less experience of using such data. In principle EMA can be idiographic, with user generated questions but I think it is more often nomothetic.

#### Try also

- [Patient/client-reported outcome measures (PROMs)](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/patient-client-reported-outcome-measures-proms/)
- [Nomothetic measures](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/nomothetic-measures-nomothetic-data/)
- [Self-report measures](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/self-report-measure/)
- [User-generated measures](https://www.psyctc.org/psyctc/glossary2/user-generated-measures/)

#### Chapters

Not covered in the OMbook.

#### Online resources

None forseeable?

#### Dates

First created 25.ii.25.