Americans' Use of Time Series

collection: series

Investigator(s): Thomas F. Juster, Paul Courant, Greg J. Duncan, John P. Robinson, Frank P. Stafford

About this Collection

The Americans' Use of Time series data were gathered as part of a multinational time budget project and consist of several datasets: AMERICANS' USE OF TIME, 1965-1966 (ICPSR 7254), TIME USE IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTS, 1975-1976 [ICPSR 7580], AMERICANS' USE OF TIME, 1965-1966, AND TIME USE IN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTS, 1975-1976: MERGED DATA [ICPSR 7796], AMERICANS' USE OF TIME, 1985 (9875), TIME USE LONGITUDINAL PANEL STUDY, 1975-1981 (9054), and FAMILY INTERACTION, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND TRENDS IN TIME USE (FISCT), 1998-1999: [UNITED STATES] (ICPSR 3191). They contain single-day time personal diary, mail-back, and telephone interview data. The diaries consist of primary and secondary single-day activities. The files contain data on the estimates of daily time use by Americans, comprising work and nonwork leisure activities, as well as sociodemographic data. The FISCT 1998-1999 study contains data from 24-hour time diaries probing several indicators of social capital and life quality, gathered to update prior time series on how Americans spend time. The studies partly represent an attempt to apply recent methodological developments in the measurement of time use to a national probability sample of United States households in order to facilitate development of a fully articulated system of economic and social accounts. The time budget project focus included the following substantive and methodological areas: (1) time spent in social interaction, particularly parental time with children, (2) measurement problems in time estimates, (3) activity and social interaction patterns of elderly Americans, and (4) time spent on the Internet and effects on social isolation and other media usage.

Studies

1 results

Americans' Use of Time, 1985

For this data collection, respondents were asked to record in single-day time diaries each activity they engaged in over a 24-hour period. The time diary data were gathered through three different data collection methods: mail-back, telephone, and personal interviews. Respondents were instructed to describe in the diaries when the activity began, the time the activity ended, where it occurred, and who was present when the activity took place. Demographic variables include household type, respondent's sex, marital status, age, educational level, occupation, and work hours, number of children in the household under 5 and 18 years of age, and household income. Other variables focus on total work time, total time for meals at work, total minutes at work engaged in nonwork activities, total work break in minutes, and total time traveling to and from work. Data are also provided on total time spent on meal preparation and cleanup, housecleaning, outdoor chores, laundry, ironing, clothes care, home repair, baby care, child care, shopping for food, and traveling to and from food shopping. Respondents also reported total time spent on personal care, medical care, family financial activities, and sleeping, as well as time spent attending school, classes, seminars, special interest group meetings, religious meetings, sports events, and other social activities.

Variables

0 results

Variable-level metadata is not available for this collection.

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