Although the use of diaries as a research method has been a useful instrument in some social sciences, it has rarely been used in Management Sciences. The objective of this theoretical paper is not only to understand and analyze in depth the diary as a research method, but also to highlight the perspectives of using diaries in organizational research. Diaries take many different forms: in surveys, experiments, in qualitative and ethnographic research, and can be solicited or spontaneous. One of the advantages of this method is the possibility of investigating affective, cognitive and social process in detail and over time. One of the drawbacks is to find diarists and to maintain their motivation over a long period of time. The themes in the field of Management which can be studied using diaries are associated with human resource management, workplace relations, organizational behavior, organizational management and marketing, within a multidisciplinary approach.
diaries; research methods; qualitative research; naturalistic research; self reports