MI Diaries

Name: MI Diaries
Author: Michigan State University

Michigan State University

DOCUMENTED

Published in academic literature

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App Summary

MI Diaries is a research app that allows residents of Michigan to contribute to a longitudinal sociolinguistics project by recording and submitting audio diaries about their lives and experiences. The associated research demonstrates that this remote self-recording method successfully collects rich, longitudinal data by adapting traditional sociolinguistic interview techniques for a digital format. The authors conclude this approach enables new research into language change in understudied populations and may offer social benefits for participants, such as those who feel isolated.

App Screenshots

Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

The MI Diaries mobile application, developed by Michigan State University's Sociolinguistics Lab, facilitates the longitudinal collection of self-recorded audio diaries for sociolinguistic research. The system distributes periodic email prompts designed to elicit personal narratives and other speech styles from participants. Through a custom interface, participants submit asynchronous audio recordings, contributing to an oral history corpus documenting language and life in Michigan. The design supports sustained engagement with minimal participant burden.

Evidence & Research Context

The associated research presents the app as a successful remote data collection methodology, particularly for engaging populations underrepresented in variationist sociolinguistics, such as older adults.
The system's question prompts are based on established sociolinguistic methods that are adapted to elicit a range of speech styles, including formal narratives of personal experience.
The app's design and deployment are detailed in research that addresses the ethical and logistical considerations of remote, longitudinal data collection within a community context.

Intended Use & Scope

This application is designed as a specialized data collection tool for sociolinguistic researchers and participating citizen scientists. Its primary utility is the contribution of audio data to a specific, long-term oral history corpus. The app does not function as a private journaling platform or provide any form of therapeutic or diagnostic support.

Studies & Publications

4 publications

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Non-Evaluative Reference

Sociolinguistic research projects as brands

Wagner et al. (2025) · Linguistics Vanguard

Referenced in academic literature; no direct evaluation of the app

Abstract Sociolinguistic projects can benefit from brand management practices to meet their research goals. This is especially (but not exclusively) relevant for projects involving longitudinal relationships between the researcher and the community. Scholars may be skeptical of branding, because it can evoke the idea of institutions spending money on corporate image rather than on research or teaching support. Yet by curating their project's brand as an indexical field, sociolinguists can bring more intention to their project vision. This intentionality in turn helps to save time and energy by making all decisions easier, and by improving communication to project stakeholders. The paper offers an overview of relevant public sector brand theory and gives examples from four recent sociolinguistic projects: MI Diaries, Accent Bias in Britain, Manchester Voices, and Our Dialects.

Development/Design Paper

Including older adults in variationist sociolinguistics via mobile self-recording

Wagner et al. (2023) · Journal of Language and Aging Research

Describes the research-driven development of this app

Variationist sociolinguistics has made significant contributions to linguistics and allied fields in the study of language variation and change. Yet within this paradigm, older adults remain understudied. There are non-trivial methodological challenges to collecting language data from the old age population. However, the Covid-19 pandemic led to increasing use of remote data collection methods that could fruitfully be employed with older adults. The MI Diaries project's rich and growing collection of self-recorded 'audio diaries' via a custom mobile app demonstrates the success of this technology. An open-source version of the app, currently in development, will be adaptable to older users. For individuals who feel isolated, sending regular self-recordings to a responsive research team could be socially beneficial. As for variationist sociolinguistics, remote technologies could allow for greater engagement with outstanding research questions about older adults' sociolinguistic identities and their participation in language change.

In the Media

MSU researcher awarded grant to expand educational opportunities through Michigan linguistics project

Michigan State University researcher Betsy Sneller co-leads MI Diaries, a linguistics project that launched in 2021 to document changes in the lives and language of Michigan residents using a mobile app for voice recordings. The project has collected more than 8,700 individual audio records totaling 1,900+ hours from over 1,500 participants ranging in age from 5 to 78. Sneller recently received a $646,385 NSF grant to expand educational opportunities and partnerships with Michigan school districts.

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MSU Research Team and MI Diaries Project Foster Community During Challenging Times

Michigan State University researchers Betsy Sneller and Suzanne Evans Wagner developed MI Diaries to document changes in the lives and language of Michigan residents, using a mobile app that allows people to record their own voices. "We work hard to curate a sense of community between ourselves and the diarists," said Sneller, MSU Assistant Professor of Linguistics. The project is supported through grants from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and MSU.

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MI Diaries Receives NSF Grant to Support Its Expansion

Michigan State University's Sociolinguistics Lab developed MI Diaries to track language changes and capture daily experiences during COVID-19, using innovative self-recorded audio diaries that participants submit through a custom mobile app. The project received a $265,830 NSF grant to support infrastructure expansion, with Assistant Professor Betsy Sneller stating "The NSF grant will support the improvement and expansion of the MI Diaries infrastructure to optimize participant recruitment and retention through the development of improved technology (a gamified app)." The funding will enable community partnerships with youth organizations across Michigan and allow the data collection system to be shared with other sociolinguists.

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MI Diaries Project Sees Seven Team Members Graduate

Michigan State University's Sociolinguistics Lab developed MI Diaries to track changes to language during the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting recorded speech from Michigan residents since April 2020. Assistant Professor Betsy Sneller stated, "Our graduating seniors have been absolutely integral to the success of MI Diaries and have been an important part of lab meetings, helping come up with creative diary prompt questions to ask each week." The project is led by Assistant Professor Betsy Sneller and Associate Professor Suzanne Wagner.

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