Realities of using self-administered smartphone surveys to solve sustainability challenges

Abstract

To fill data gaps in human-environment systems, especially in difficult-to-access locations, novel tools are needed to collect (near) real-time data from diverse populations across the globe. Here we discuss the practicalities, constraints, and lessons learnt from six field studies using high spatial and temporal smartphone surveys in six different countries. We suggest that high spatiotemporal, self-administered smartphone surveys will produce novel insights into human behaviour, attitudes, and socio-economic characteristics that, when matched with high spatiotemporal resolution environmental data (e.g., from remote sensing), can be used to address sustainability challenges for global communities. Furthermore, we highlight the need for continuous refinement and improvement in future developments to enhance the efficacy of this methodology. By sharing the practical implications and constraints associated with smartphone surveys, this article contributes to the evolving landscape of data collection methods.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Lewis, A.R. Willcock, S. Casas, A. Kupiec-Teahan, B. Mendoza Sanchez, J. Anciano, F. Barrington, D.J. Dube, M. Hutchings, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7758-4644 Karani, C. Llaxacondor, A. López, H. Mdee, A.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8260-1840 Nou, K. Ofori, A.D. Riungu, J.N. Russel, K.C. Haque Tamal, M.E. Parker, A.H. Bell, A.R.
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Keywords:	Environmental studies; Geography; Sociology
Dates:	Accepted: 10 June 2025 Published (online): 19 July 2025 Published: 19 July 2025
Institution:	The University of Leeds
Academic Units:	The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Politics & International Studies (POLIS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Civil Engineering (Leeds)
Date Deposited:	15 Dec 2025 11:55
Last Modified:	15 Dec 2025 11:55
Published Version:	https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-025-05305-w
Status:	Published
Publisher:	Springer Nature
Identification Number:	10.1057/s41599-025-05305-w
Related URLs:	Author Dataset Dataset Dataset
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:235450

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Realities of using self-administered smartphone surveys to solve sustainability challenges

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Realities of using self-administered smartphone surveys to solve sustainability challenges

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