Understanding the Challenges of Mobile Phone Usage Data

Driven by curiosity and our own three diverse smartphone application usage datasets, we sought to unpack the nuances of mobile device use by revisiting two recent Mobile HCI studies 1, 17. Our goal was to add to our broader understanding of smartphone usage by investigating if differences in mobile device usage occurred not only across our three datasets, but also in relation to prior work. We found differences in the top-10 apps in each dataset, in the durations and types of interactions as well as in micro-usage patterns. However, it proved very challenging to attribute such differences to a specific factor or set of factors: was it the time frame in which the studies were executed? The recruitment procedure? The experimental method? Using our somewhat troubled analysis, we discuss the challenges and issues of conducting mobile research of this nature and reflect on caveats related to the replicability and generalizability of such work.