Adaptation after facial surgery: using the diary as a research tool

We conducted a small-scale qualitative diary study to gather accounts from five facial cancer surgery patients. Participants were asked to record their experiences, thoughts and feelings for up to one year, as they underwent and recovered from their surgery and adapted to living with alterations in their appearance. In this article, we consider evidence relating to the diary as a research tool and discuss our experiences of issues arising with the qualitative diary method employed in this study. These include comparability with interview data, factors affecting the quantity and quality of data (novelty, personal significance, and individual writing styles), chronological story-telling, and barriers to writing (visual difficulties and depression).