Post-Conference Workshops

The post-conference workshops will take place on Thursday, 6 August, 2026, between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm, and include a coffee break. Workshops can be booked during the registration process. Please note that you can only register for one workshop, and that we charge a registration fee of 10€.

ESMira: An introduction and hands-on workshop for building experience sampling smartphone studies

Facilitators: Selina Volsa, David Lewetz, David Willinger (Karl Landsteiner University)

In this workshop attendees will learn hands-on about the open-source platform ESMira. ESMira is a self-hostable platform focusing on anonymity that can be used to conduct smartphone-based Experience Sampling Method (ESM) studies. It incorporates an easy to install server software that can run on any web space or web server (with only minimal requirements), a web interface to create and manage studies with questionnaires, notifications or automated charts and smartphone apps (iOS and Android) that are used by participants to complete studies and communicate with study administrators anonymously. Workshop attendees will have a chance to learn how to install ESMira on their own server and how to use the web interface to implement their own studies, manage communication with participants and how to review and download study data. They will also learn about the capabilities and possible pitfalls of the web interface and smartphone apps and have a chance to discuss their own studies and past experiences. During the workshop, attendees will be able to create their own study in ESMira, test it in action with other attendees and will have the opportunity to receive feedback from the developers of the ESMira platform and other attendees. The workshop is targeted at people who either have never used ESMira and want to learn about it or have prior experience and want to improve their knowledge, have questions or want to discuss and share their experience with others. And of course, the workshop is meant as an opportunity to discuss possible future developments of ESMira and connect with other researchers in the field of ESM research.

Continuous Time Dynamic Systems Modelling for Intensive Longitudinal Data

Facilitators: Prof. Dr. Charles Driver, Dr Michael Aristodemou (University of Zurich)

We introduce participants to the R package ctsem for modelling discrete and continuous time dynamic systems, where one or more dynamic processes are linked to one or more potentially noisy variables. ctsem is particularly applicable to ambulatory assessment data as it can naturally accommodate varying time intervals between measurements, different measurement approaches, missing data, individual differences via single-subject or hierarchical approaches, and can operate in frequentist or Bayesian frameworks (or somewhere in between). We first provide a broad overview of dynamic systems approaches, then demonstrate the use of ctsem for a range of models -- starting from simple linear growth, working through univariate dynamic systems, cross-lagged panel models, considering individual differences and interventions, up to non-linear model forms such as time-varying / state-dependent parameters. An emphasis will lie on sensible interpretation of outputs that researchers are typically interested in, and the thoughtful evaluation of model fit via different forms of visualisation, checks and comparisons. On the data structure side of things, we will focus on intensive longitudinal data and complex data structures such as irregular measurement, sporadic interventions, missing data etc. Some time will be devoted to working through examples, discussion of instantiating theoretical ideas and research questions as dynamic system models, and commonalities / differences between the discrete and continuous time representations possible within ctsem. Participants who wish to engage with the example exercises and follow along should bring their own laptops with the latest versions of R and RStudio installed.

Exploring stress in everyday life – the tools and techniques to monitor participants outside of the lab

Facilitator: Stefan Hey (movisens GmbH)

In our workshop, we demonstrate how simple and intuitive it can be to combine the measurement of objective and subjective parameters. Using a compelling practical example, we also show how small interventions can be implemented immediately in the respective situation. All movisens mobile sensors are able to transmit the results of the measured and analysed data in real time to a smartphone via a Bluetooth interface. From there, questionnaires can be triggered in movisensXS to start a query. Interactive Ambulatory Assessment makes it possible to record subjective data precisely at the times when something of physiological interest (in this example heart rate increase or HRV change) is measured. By combining HRV measurement and IAA in everyday life, small interventions can be performed quickly and easily. We are proud to offer the only research grade sensor triggering functionality for Experience Sampling studies. This feature allows you to capture the contextual information from a participant, enabling you to fully understand the objective physiological data. Instead of looking at the data and wondering what that spike or dip was in a particular metric, you can use this feature to ask the participant themselves at the moment it occurs. movisensXS evaluates the data within your customisable algorithm, and as a result of the evaluation, can trigger a questionnaire or an intervention on the smartphone. Using our simple drag and drop interface, you select what physiological parameter (or parameters!) you’d like to utilize and build your own triggering algorithm. When investigating physiological changes such as high activity levels, sedentary behavior, changes in heart rate variability (RMSSD), heart rate thresholds, or electrodermal activity, these parameters can act as triggers within your study.

FAQ

IMPRESSUM

For questions concerning the organization and program:

Institute for Clinical and Health Psychology

Chair of the Local Organising Committee:
Prof. Dr. Laura M. König

saa2026@univie.ac.at

Address
Universitätsring 1
1010 Vienna