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This chapter aims to critically discuss the role of experience sampling methods (ESMs) in critical event studies. In doing so, this chapter will reflect upon the author's doctoral primary research and will begin by providing an overview of the quantitative ESM approach and its development to a qualitative descriptive experience sampling (DES). This will be followed by a discussion regarding the ontological and epistemological shift that underpins the DES data collection method used. The research employs a critical realism perspective to inform a phenomenological approach to research enquiry and therefore the key theories of these perspectives will be discussed. Following this, the chapter will debate the considerations of method execution that DES requires and how these can be met and mediated to help ensure that the data and subsequent results are consistent and valid. It is therefore the aim of this chapter to provide a critical overview of (descriptive) experience sampling methods. This includes the history and development of the method, a shift towards a critical philosophical position and, based on the author's experiences, the methodological considerations for its use in primary research. In doing so, it provides the reader with a deeper understanding of this method and how it can contribute to critical event studies.

DOI: 10.1057/978-1-137-52386-0_13

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