Time Use Survey

Summary

The Time Use Survey (ZVE) provides unique diary data on the issue of time use in daily life. Data are collected in a large sample, so analyses for different social groups and household types can be conducted. Data are very detailed, many kinds of activities are registered – e. g. housework, child care, civic engagement, neighbourhood assistance, education, media use and many others. In the field of volunteering, activities are registered both in the diary and in the personal interview. The personal interview registers the fields of volunteering in the last 12 months and the expenditure of time per month. The diaries show the exact time expenditure for voluntary activities and informal help for other households. Data of the Time Use Survey allow trend analyses between the waves 1991/92 and 2001/02 (and the following waves), as well as European comparisons. A special strength of the survey is its large sample size. There is multi-stage quality control of all data. There are only few context variables besides socio-demographic items and items on employment. More complex causal analyses on the influence of various factors on time use are not possible.

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Crosssection occasional

Data gathering method
Self administered questionnaire

Access to data

Conditions of access
Scientific Use Files (SUF) available by Research Data Centre and only for scientific use, SUF only for scientists in Germany, for some detailed data only on-site workplaces, CAMPUS-Files for teaching.

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
anonymised microdata

Formats available
Scientific Use Files: POR data files

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
Wave 1: Data collected in 1991/92 with a sample size of 6,845 households, 19,708 individuals. Wave 2: Data collected in 2001/02 with a sample size of 5,160 households, 13,758 individuals. Wave 3: Data is currently being collected (2012/13).

First year of collection
1991/92

Stratification if applicable
No

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
NUTS1 – Federal states

Age range
Wave 1: 12 years and older; Wave 2: 10 years and older

Statistical representativeness
Other, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The data set includes individual and household information from interviews and individual time use data from diaries filled in over 3 randomly selected days during field time. Detailed Study: Detailed study for time use. Description of the 24-hour course of the day in 10 minute intervals (main activities and simultaneous activities, persons who were present, locations and means of transport), socio-demographic and socio-economic items for households and household-members, support given and received, volunteering, learning, infrastructure of place of residence, subjective assessment of time use . Topics in the field of engagement. Personal interview: Field of engagement/volunteering in the last 12 months, expenditure of time per month for engagement/volunteering. Activities (diary): Voluntary activities, informal help for other households.

Linkage

Standardisation
• ISCO 1988: International Standard Classification of Occupation, 1988 • ISCED: International Standard Classification of Education

Possibility of linkage among databases
Linkage by data user is not allowed and not possible.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
Not known

Breaks
Some changes in the survey mode, e.g. changes in the time mode to fill in the diaries (1991/92: activities were registered every 5 minutes from 0 am to 12 pm, 2001/02: activities were registered every 10 minutes from 4 am to 4 pm).

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
Changes in the coding of activities (changes are documented).

Governance

Contact information

Statistisches Bundesamt, Forschungsdatenzentrum

65180 Wiesbaden Germany Phone: +49 0611 75-2420
Email: forschungsdatenzentrum(at)destatis.de
Url: http://www.forschungsdatenzentrum.de

Timeliness, transparency
The first results of the data collected in 2001/02 were available more than 1 year later.