Humm points out that:

In feminist research diaries are used as records of the researcher's feelings and ideas. Diaries draw attention to the researcher as a human being and offer clues to the social environment being studied. In this way diaries can be as significant a part of data as empirical evidence.

(Humm, Maggie, The Dictionary of Feminist Theory, Harvester Wheatsheaf, London, 1989, p50)