American Time Use Survey: Arts Activities, [United States], 2003-2017 (ICPSR 36268)

Version Date: May 1, 2019

Principal Investigator(s):
United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36268.v4

Version V4 ()

  • V7 [2023-07-25]
  • V6 [2022-04-07] unpublished
  • V5 [2020-05-20] unpublished
  • V4 [2019-05-01] unpublished
  • V3 [2016-11-28] unpublished

You are currently viewing an older version of this data collection. A more recent version may be available by selecting ()

Additional information about this collection can be found in Version History.

2019-05-01 Data through 2017 were added to the data collection.

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:

  • United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics. American Time Use Survey: Arts Activities, [United States], 2003-2017. ICPSR36268-v4. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-05-01. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36268.v4

2016-11-28

An infographic on TV watching for 2015 was added.

The 2010-2014 summary tables file was updated to create two files that include state-level summary tables. One file includes summary tables that provide percentages of time that the population spent doing selected activities and percentages of the population that did them. The second 2010-2014 summary tables file covers numbers of persons and average hours per day spent on each activity.

2016-10-20 Data for 2015 and unpublished ATUS summary tables for 2011-2015 (produced by the BLS) were added to the data collection.

2016-03-10 Unpublished ATUS summary tables produced by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics have been added to the data collection.

2015-09-08 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created online analysis version with question text.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Slide tabs to view more

Alternate Title

ATUS 2003-2017

Summary

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) is the Nation's first federally administered, continuous survey on time use in the United States. The survey is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

This multi-year data collection contains information on the amount of time that people spent doing various activities in the years 2003 through 2017, such as work and work-related activities, personal care, household activities, consumer purchases, volunteering, and caring for and helping household members. Respondents were also asked about arts-related activities including sports, recreation, socializing, relaxing, arts and crafts, and music appreciation. Additionally, the study provides demographic information--including sex, race, age, educational attainment, occupation, income, marital status, and the presence of children in the household.

For this data collection, 191,558 respondents were randomly selected from a subset of households that have completed their eighth and final month of interviews for the Current Population Survey (CPS). Respondents were interviewed only one time about how they spent their time on the previous day, where they were, and whom they were with.

Citation

United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics. American Time Use Survey: Arts Activities, [United States], 2003-2017. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-05-01. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36268.v4

Export Citation:

  • RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
  • EndNote

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Restrictions

Users of the data must agree to the Terms of Use presented on the NADAC Web site and available through the link in each codebook.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
Hide

Time Period(s)

2003 -- 2017

Date of Collection

2003 -- 2017

Data Collection Notes

  1. The survey is sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau.

  2. NADAC also includes unpublished ATUS summary tables produced by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. These tables provide data for years 2010-2014 and for years 2011-2015. They show numbers of Americans participating on any given day and average time spent on the activity. These tables are available in the Dataset(s) section. The 2010-2014 summary tables contain both national and state level data. The 2011-2015 tables contain national data only.

    Users can find statistics for arts-related activities in some activity categories such as Relaxing and Leisure; Arts and Entertainment; and Sports, Exercise, & Recreation.

  3. Before analyzing the data, users are strongly encouraged to refer to the ATUS 2003-2017 User Guide (produced by the Census Bureau), which contains detailed explanations regarding study design, sampling frame used, data coding and editing, weights, and response rates.

  4. Although some demographic variables are updated during the ATUS interview, most of this information comes from earlier CPS interviews, as the ATUS sample is drawn from a subset of households that have completed month 8 of the CPS.

  5. The activity code variables for this data collection are preceded by the letter "T" and include a six-digit activity classification code. Activity classification codes and examples can be found in the 2003-2017 ATUS Activity Lexicon in the ATUS 2003-2017 User's Guide.

  6. While attempts have been made to collect the most accurate data possible, the ATUS data do have limitations. With the exception of childcare, information on secondary activities (activities that are done at the same time as the primary activity) is not collected. This could lead to underestimates of the amount of time people spend doing activities that are frequently done in combination with other activities. For example, ATUS estimates likely underestimate the amount of time people spend listening to music since so many people listen to music while doing other things.

    Survey estimates are subject to nonsampling errors that may arise from many different sources, such as an inability to obtain information from all individuals in the sample, data entry errors, coding errors, and misinterpretation of definitions. Errors also could occur if nonresponse is correlated with time use. Nonsampling errors were not measured. However, the Census Bureau uses quality-assurance procedures to minimize nonsampling, data entry, and coding errors in the survey estimates.

    Please refer to Chapters 7 and 10 of the ATUS 2003-2017 User Guide for further details.

  7. Due to the limit in the number of allowable rows of 65,536 and allowable columns of 256 in Excel 97-2003 (file ending, xls), the Excel file being distributed with this collection is in the later version of Excel (file ending of xlsx).

Hide

Study Purpose

The major purpose of this data collection is to develop nationally representative estimates of how people spend their time.

Study Design

During the 2003-2017 period, 191,558 respondents were interviewed for this survey. The survey results are based on computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) with a representative sample of residents living in households in the United States that are at least 15 years of age, with the exception of active military personnel and people residing in institutions such as nursing homes and prisons.

For a complete description of the study design, please refer to the ATUS 2003-2017 User Guide.

Sample

The sample for this data collection was drawn from households that had completed their final month of interviews for the Current Population Survey (CPS). Households were selected to ensure that estimates could be made across major demographic groups (e.g. race, age and presence of children, and number of adults in adults-only households). One individual from each selected household was randomly chosen to participate in the ATUS, and this person was interviewed only once about his or her time use.

Please refer to the ATUS 2003-2017 User Guide for further details on sampling.

Time Method

Longitudinal: Trend / Repeated Cross-section

Universe

All residents living in households in the United States that are at least 15 years of age, with the exception of active military personnel and people residing in institutions such as nursing homes and prisons.

Unit(s) of Observation

individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

Variables for this data collection provide information about the amount of time Americans spend doing unpaid, nonmarket work, which could include unpaid childcare, eldercare, housework, and volunteering. The data collection also provides information on the amount of time people spend in many other activities, such as religious activities, socializing, exercising, and relaxing. In addition to collecting data about what people did on the day before the interview, the ATUS collects information about where and with whom each activity occurred, and whether the activities were done for one's job or business. Demographic variables provide information about respondents' sex, race, age, educational attainment, occupation, income, marital status, and children's presence in the household.

Response Rates

The average response rate to the ATUS from 2003-2017 was 53.1 percent.

The response rate for each year from 2003 through 2017 are as follows: 2003, 57.8 percent; 2004, 57.3 percent; 2005, 56.6 percent; 2006, 55.1 percent; 2007, 52.5 percent; 2008, 54.6 percent; 2009, 56.6 percent; 2010, 56.9 percent; 2011, 54.6 percent; 2012, 53.2 percent; 2013, 49.9 percent; 2014, 51.0 percent; 2015, 48.5 percent; 2016, 46.8 percent; and 2017, 45.6 percent.

Hide

Original Release Date

2015-09-08

Version History

2019-05-01 Data through 2017 were added to the data collection.

2018-02-15 The citation of this study may have changed due to the new version control system that has been implemented. The previous citation was:
  • United States. Bureau of Labor Statistics. American Time Use Survey: Arts Activities, [United States], 2003-2017. ICPSR36268-v4. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-05-01. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR36268.v4
2016-11-28

An infographic on TV watching for 2015 was added.

The 2010-2014 summary tables file was updated to create two files that include state-level summary tables. One file includes summary tables that provide percentages of time that the population spent doing selected activities and percentages of the population that did them. The second 2010-2014 summary tables file covers numbers of persons and average hours per day spent on each activity.

2016-10-20 Data for 2015 and unpublished ATUS summary tables for 2011-2015 (produced by the BLS) were added to the data collection.

2016-03-10 Unpublished ATUS summary tables produced by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics have been added to the data collection.

2015-09-08 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Created online analysis version with question text.
  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Hide

Weight

The data contain the weight variable: TUFNWGTP. This variable was created using the 2006 weighting method and is available for all years. Users need to apply weights when computing estimates with the ATUS data because simple tabulations of unweighted ATUS data produce misleading results.

The ATUS final weight(s) add up to the total number of person-days (not persons) in the population. Thus the sum of the weights for an annual file would add up to 365 days times the United States (civilian non-institutional) population aged 15 and older. For the 12-13 year pooled data files (e.g. ATUS 2003-2017 data file), the estimates would be correspondingly higher than single-year files.

This study also contains a separate Replicate Weights File which contains the replicate weights for variable TUFNWGTP. These weights were created using the 2006 weighting method. The data file contains one record for each respondent to the ATUS. These replicate weights are necessary for constructing standard error estimates. To use these weights, merge the Replicate Weights File to the Activity Summary File using the ID variable TUCASEID.

Please refer to the ATUS 2003-2017 User Guide for further details regarding ATUS weights.

Hide