HelloForms
Research · free template

Diary Study Check-in

A short repeating entry participants complete daily: what happened, how it felt, what got in the way.

A ready-to-use research & data collection form for small teams who need a reliable intake process: 9 questions, 2 pages, 3 conditional rules.

Questions
9
Pages
2
Layouts
card · classic
Conditional rules
3
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Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the 2 conditional rules — nothing is sent or stored.

Page 1 of 2 — Today's entry

Daily check-in

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Attach a file up to 10 MB.

Any file type up to 10.0 MB (larger files are rejected) · uploads are saved on the live form

1 question is hidden by conditional logic right now — change an answer above to reveal it.

Compliance checklist

Ready to publish
  • Payment items priced — passingEvery payment question charges a real amount, so a submission always records a payment.
  • Conditional logic resolves — passingEvery rule points at a question or page that exists in this template.
  • Legal text not required — passingThis template collects neither health nor regulated financial information.
  • Question labels unique — passingLogic and exports address questions by label, so duplicates are ambiguous.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Diary Study Check-in is built for small teams who need a reliable intake process who need to collect the same complete information from everyone.

  • Small teams who need a reliable intake process working in research & data collection.
  • Teams who need to collect the same complete information from everyone without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing chasing missing details over email with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are the people you send it to — the form asks them 9 questions across 2 screens.
  • Mobile-heavy audiences, thanks to the one-question-per-screen card layout.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of chasing missing details over email and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 5 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It accepts a document or photo upload as evidence.
  • It pins the request to a specific date.
  • It measures sentiment on a numeric scale.
  • Conditional logic hides 3 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.
  • Splitting the form across 2 pages keeps each screen short and shows respondents how much is left.
  • Every response is stored, searchable and exportable, so nothing depends on one person's inbox.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Diary Study Check-in lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Check the upload limits on the file question so respondents can attach what you actually need.
  5. 5Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  6. 6Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 3 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features advanced show logic: if “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, the form dynamically exposes “What got in the way?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • Features conditional validation: if “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, “What got in the way?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Would you be happy to talk about today in a follow-up call?” is Yes, the form dynamically exposes “Best time to reach you”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • All 3 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

A diary study collects data across time rather than in one sitting, and everything about this form is shaped by the fact that a participant has to complete it again tomorrow. It is deliberately short — under a minute — and asks about today only, because recall over a week produces a tidy story rather than accurate data. Each entry captures the participant code and the date it refers to, so entries can be strung into a per-person timeline even when someone submits late. The core is three questions that stay identical every day: what happened, how the participant felt on a fixed scale, and whether anything got in the way. Repeating the same wording is what makes day 2 and day 12 comparable. A photo can be attached where the context matters, which is often the single richest thing in a diary study. One conditional branch opens a short explanation when the day scored unusually low, so you learn why without lengthening every other entry. Card layout is the default because the form is normally filled in on a phone, one question per screen.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Page 1 — Today's entry

  • Participant coderequired
  • Which day is this entry for?required
  • What happened today that relates to the study?required
  • How did today go overall?
  • Did anything get in the way today?required
  • What got in the way?
  • Photo from today (optional)

Page 2 — Follow-up

  • Would you be happy to talk about today in a follow-up call?required
  • Best time to reach you

9 questions in total.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 3 conditional rules, grouped into 3 behaviours driven by 2 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “Did anything get in the way today?”

  • Reveals questions

    If “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, the form reveals “What got in the way?”.

  • Makes answers required

    If “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, “What got in the way?” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Would you be happy to talk about today in a follow-up call?”

  • Reveals questions

    If “Would you be happy to talk about today in a follow-up call?” is Yes, the form reveals “Best time to reach you”.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Keep the questions fixed

    Never reword the daily questions mid-study; comparability across days depends on identical wording.

  2. 2

    Send one link

    Give participants a single link they submit repeatedly rather than a new form each day.

  3. 3

    Ask about today only

    Same-day entries are the whole point — retrospective weekly entries are recall, not diary data.

  4. 4

    Prompt at a fixed time

    A daily reminder at the same hour lifts compliance more than any incentive.

  5. 5

    Review mid-study

    Check entries after three days; if a question is being skipped, it is the question at fault.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Making the daily entry long, which kills compliance by day three.
  • Not capturing the participant code, so entries cannot be linked into a timeline.
  • Asking people to recall a whole week instead of logging the same day.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Chart each participant's entries as a timeline, look for the days that break the pattern, and use those as the prompts for a follow-up interview.

Works in both layouts

Browse card templatesBrowse classic templates

Forms that overlap this one

These pages cover the same subject ground as the diary study check-in, matched on the words people actually search for.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a diary study run?

One to two weeks for most product research. Compliance falls steeply after that unless entries are very short or well incentivised.

How do I link entries to one person?

The participant code is the key. Issue codes at recruitment and ask for the same one on every entry.

Should I use notifications?

Yes — a scheduled daily reminder is the single biggest factor in completion rates. Send the same link each time.

Can participants back-fill missed days?

The date field allows it, but flag back-filled entries in analysis: recalled days behave differently from same-day ones.

Is the Diary Study Check-in template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Diary Study Check-in on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Diary Study Check-in template ask for?

It asks 9 questions across 2 pages, 5 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Diary Study Check-in form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the card and classic layouts, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this research & data collection form work?

3 conditional rules ship with the template: Features advanced show logic: if “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, the form dynamically exposes “What got in the way?”. Otherwise that question never appears. Features conditional validation: if “Did anything get in the way today?” is Yes, “What got in the way?” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features advanced show logic: if “Would you be happy to talk about today in a follow-up call?” is Yes, the form dynamically exposes “Best time to reach you”. Otherwise that question never appears. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Diary Study Check-in form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Diary Study Check-in form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

Can respondents upload files?

Yes. This template includes a file upload question, so respondents can attach documents or photos with their answers. You can adjust the accepted file types and size limits on that question.

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