1. Collecting time use data
Rachid Bouhia
Social and Housing Statistics Section
United Nations Statistics Division
Time Use Statistics workshop for Arabic speaking countries, Amman,25-28 April 2011

2. Collecting time use data
Goal of my presentation
Overview of the different survey frameworks. Practices which prevail amid member countries.
Survey framework?
Type of survey
Mode of data collection
Type of survey instrument

3. Collecting time use data
Goal of my presentation
Overview of the different survey frameworks. Practices which prevail amid member countries.
What do I mean by survey framework?
Type of survey
Mode of data collection
Type of survey instrument

4. Mode of data collection
2 main modes:
Recall interview
Self-reporting

5. Mode of data collection
2 main modes:
Recall interview
Self-reporting

6. Recall interview Interviewing about time use during a previous period
Face-to face or over the phone

7. Recall interview General limitations:
Memory recall errors (Robinson, 1985)
“Normative editing” (Robinson, 1985)
Underreporting of quick activities

8. Face-to-face recall interviews
Advantages:
Most common technique when low literacy rates
Higher response rate
Limitations:
More costly

9. Computer-assisted telephone interviews
Advantages:
High response rate compared to self-completed questionnaires
Lower costs than face-to-face
Controls from CATI software
Limitations:
Limits of random digit dialing
Low response rate when more than one questionnaire or more than one respondent in the household
Variations in the classification
Development of cell phones

10. Mode of data collection
2 main modes:
Recall interview
Self-reporting

11. Self-reporting by respondents
Respondents are asked to complete a “leave-behind” diary on an assigned day (or days)

12. “Leave-behind” diary Advantages: Suitable for high literacy rates
May be considered less intrusive
Higher quality than recall data (≈ 10%)
Limitations:
Not feasible when low literacy rates
Costs greater than recall because 2 interviews are needed
Data quality may be affected if the respondents are asked to fill in more than one day (Harvey and Taylor, 2000)

13. Type of survey instrument
2 main instruments:
“24-hour” diary
Stylized questionnaire
Briefly describe each instrument

14. Type of survey instrument
2 main instruments:
“24-hour” diary
Stylized questionnaire

15. 24-hour diary 2 main issues “Full” versus “light” diaries
Recording of time

16. “Full” diary
Writing verbatim descriptions of activities that are coded later on to an activity classification

17. “Light” diary
Restricts activity descriptions to a limited categorization of “pre-coded” activities

18. “Full” versus “Light” diary
The choice depends on:
Analytical objectives
Cost
Literacy concerns
Misclassification of the activities

19. 24-hour diary 2 main issues “Full” versus “light” diaries
Recording of time

20. Recording of time 2 main choices:
Fixed intervals: non-overlapping segments of uniform length
Open recording: the respondent reports start and finish times of each activity

21. Recording of time Issues to take into account:
The open method yields large variations in the quality of data and complications for editing and processing (Fleming, 1999)
But fixed intervals not suited to short duration activities
Length of fixed intervals

22. Type of survey instrument
2 main instruments:
“24-hour” diary
Stylized questionnaire
Briefly describe each instrument

23. Stylized questionnaires
The respondents need to recall the amount of time spent on activities.
May target specific activities or be designed to be as exhaustive as possible as a 24-hour diary

24. Stylized questionnaire
Advantages:
Less expensive
Preferable for a specific and short time period
Used to supplement 24-hour diaries

25. Stylized questionnaire
Limitation:
High degree of error (Hofferth, 2000)

26. Conclusion Analytical purpose=guiding principle
Advantages and limitations are essentially known
How multiple options in a single study? Combination of methods?