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O-TUD Documentation

Open-source Electronic Timeline-based Interactive Daily Diary
A web-based research tool for collecting and visualizing daily activities

Quick Start

O-TUD is a client-side web application designed for time-use research studies. It provides an interactive timeline interface where participants can log their daily activities across multiple dimensions (primary activities, location, social context, device usage, and enjoyment ratings).

Key Features

  • 24-hour interactive timeline with drag-and-drop functionality
  • Multi-timeline support (primary/secondary activities, location, social context, etc.)
  • Hierarchical activity categories with color coding
  • Mobile-responsive design with touch support - view layouts
  • Data export to OSF via JSPsych DataPipe or local CSV download
  • Configurable activity sets and timeline parameters
  • OS-level accessibility support (reduced motion, high contrast, forced colors) configurable per study in activities.json - see Activities Configuration
  • Demo shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+A (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+A (macOS) enables all accessibility support
  • Demo shortcut: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+A (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+Shift+A (macOS) disables accessibility support
  • Shortcut changes show a brief fade screen and then reload the page so settings are reloaded before continuing

Architecture Overview

The application is built with vanilla JavaScript (ES6+ modules) and designed for modern browsers. It uses:

  • Frontend: Pure client-side JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3
  • Data Storage: OSF via JSPsych DataPipe
  • Deployment: Static hosting (GitHub Pages, etc.)

Research Applications

O-TUD is particularly suitable for:

  • Time-use studies and activity pattern research
  • Daily diary studies in psychology and sociology
  • Behavioral pattern analysis
  • Experience sampling method (ESM) studies
  • Cross-cultural time-use comparisons
  • Intervention studies measuring activity changes

Browser Requirements

Requires modern browser features:

  • ES2017+ JavaScript (async/await, modules)
  • Modern CSS (Flexbox gap, CSS Grid, clamp())
  • Web APIs (IntersectionObserver)
  • No Internet Explorer support

O-TUD is open-source software designed for research purposes. See individual documentation pages for detailed setup instructions.