The "Quantified Self" is a movement to incorporate technology into data acquisition on all aspects of an individual’s daily life. These data include diet, physical activity levels, sleeping patterns, and environmental features. As more individuals choose to wear sensors combined with wireless devices, these tools could become a powerful approach for collecting/tracking/analyzing data nationwide.

This two-part workshop introduced four technologies: SenseCam, Ecological Momentary Assessment, Smart Trackers (e.g., FitBit, Jawbone UP, Nike FuelBand), and Crowdsourcing. It explored the ways that these technologies could be used for national and local assessment and evaluation. In part one, there was a brief introduction to the “Quantified Self” movement and then a 5 minute overview of each technology, including main functions, example data, and any current projects using this technology. Part two of the workshop explored how to use these technologies to answer research questions, to measure the effectiveness of interventions, or to evaluate new policies. Participants were given example research questions, interventions, and policies and engaged to develop a plan of assessment. To conclude, participants contrasted current challenges and future directions for the implementation of these methods in research and practice.