Occupational Social Distancing Indices, United States, 2019 (ICPSR 39168)
Version Date: Jul 29, 2024 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Laura Montenovo, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis;
Xuan Jiang, Jinan University;
Felipe A. Lozano-Rojas, University of Georgia;
Ian M. Schmutte, University of Georgia;
Kosali Simon, Indiana University;
Bruce A. Weinberg, Ohio State University;
Coady Wing, Indiana University
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39168.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
Researchers used data from the 2019 Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Work Context module, which reports summary measures of the tasks used in 968 occupations (National Center for O*NET Development 2020). These data were gathered through surveys asking workers how often they perform particular tasks and about the importance of different activities in their jobs. Some of the questions relate to the need for face-to-face interaction with clients, customers, and coworkers, and other questions assess how easily work could be done remotely. Researchers used such questions to build two occupation indices: Face-to-Face (questions on face-to-face discussions and physical proximity) and Remote Work (questions on use of electronic mail, written letters, and phone conversation). Occupational characteristics in the O*NET were measured prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that they do not capture "work practice innovations" that may have been induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the fact that many teachers and professors transitioned from face-to-face to online instruction during the pandemic.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
- This study is also related to the Linkage Library project Work Indices - O*NET.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The purpose was to create indices measuring U.S. occupations on work context (remote work and face-to-face interaction) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Study Design View help for Study Design
The O*NET Data Collection Program provides several hundred ratings, based on responses by the sampled workers to the O*NET questionnaires. It was not feasible to ask each respondent to provide information for all data elements. To reduce the burden on respondents, the questions had been organized into three questionnaires, each containing a different set of questions. The sampled job incumbents for each occupation were randomly assigned one of the three questionnaires. All respondents were also asked to complete a task questionnaire and provide some general demographic information. Abilities and Skills information was developed by occupational analysts using the updated information from incumbent workers.
For more information about the study, please visit the Data Collection page.
Sample View help for Sample
Information was collected using a two-stage design in which:
1. a statistically random sample of businesses expected to employ workers in the targeted occupations were identified and
2. a random sample of workers in those occupations within those businesses were be selected. New data was be collected by surveying job incumbents using standardized questionnaires.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
U.S. occupations
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Source View help for Data Source
2019 Occupational Information Network (O*NET), Work Context.
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables
This study includes 5 variables and 774 cases linked together with the unique id SOC_2018. The study includes how often the participants had face-to-face discussions with individuals in their jobs, the participants remote work index and their job titles.
For additional information on the variables, please refer to the documentation and visit the O*NET website.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Likert-type scale
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The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.