2. Data Description
Overview
The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) provides nationally
representative estimates of how, where, and with whom
Americans spend their time, and is the only federal survey
providing data on the full range of nonmarket activities, from
childcare to volunteering
ATUS data files are used by researchers to study a broad
range of issues; the data files include information collected
from over 148,000 interviews conducted from 2003 to 2013
ATUS data files can be linked to data files from the Current
Population Survey (CPS). This expands the context in which
time-use data can be analyzed and saves taxpayer money
because fewer questions must be asked in the ATUS interview
3. Data Description
Uses
Economic research
The Bureau of Economic Analysis
To measure the value of unpaid work, including
volunteering, child care, and household activities
Researchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
To examine the time Americans spend working at home
and how this additional work time can be used to enhance
traditional measures of worker productivity
Continuous collection
Has been used to measure changes in the time Americans
spend;
• Working
• Doing household production
• In leisure at different points in a business cycle
4. Data Description
Uses
Health and safety
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics
To measure exposure to vehicle accident risk
The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics
As a "use of time indicator" in the publication, Older
Americans: Key Indicators of Well-Being
The Economic Research Service at the Department of
Agriculture used ATUS data
To examine eating and drinking patterns and how they
relate to a person's overall health
To look at how Americans use food assistance program
Sleep researchers
To measure the tradeoffs Americans make between sleep,
work, commuting, and other activities, and how they relate
to overall health
5. Data Description
Uses
Family and work-life balance
Researchers
Estimate how much time mothers and fathers spend with their
children
Estimate how that time has changed over time
ATUS researchers study
How working parents find the time to balance the demands of
childcare, work, leisure, and other activities in their lives
ATUS data show
How different groups of Americans spend their leisure time
such as;
• Watching television
• Socializing with their neighbors
• Exercising
6. Data Description
Uses
International comparisons
The United Nations Development Programme's Human
Development Report
This report compares people's well-being across different countries
and demographic groups and sheds light on how Americans' well-
being is different from those in other nations
The United Nations' Gender Statistics Database
The database allows researchers to generate time-use estimates
across different countries and demographic groups
These data help researchers better understand the roles that men
and women play in society in different countries
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development's Society at a Glance: OECD Social Indicators
2011
7. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
• From the analysis, males (TESEX: 1)with no children who generally work
about 40-50 hours a week(TEHRUSLT) spend no time at all physically caring
for household children(t030101). This is completely logical, and trends adjust
as the number of children increases for that male.
Males who generally work about 40-50 hrs/week with one child,
spends very little time caring for that child.
8. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
Males who generally work about 40-50 hrs/week with two children,
tend to spend slightly more time with their children.
9. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
Males who generally work about 40-50 hrs/week with three children
are much the same as males with 2 children.
10. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
Women who generally work about 40-50 hrs/week with one child,
spends progressively more time caring for their children than men at
the same level of analysis.
11. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
Women who generally work about 40-50 hrs/week with two children,
spends progressively more time caring for their children than with one
child.
12. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
The trend seems to increase for working women, even as the number of
children increases, so too, do the time mothers spend with their
children. (Slide 1)
13. Questions for Visual Analysis
How are men and women with/without children affected in
terms of activities?
(Slide 2)
14. Questions for Visual Analysis
What activities are more prevalent amongst the different
demographics?
One can also easily, examine the demographics of the various respondents. The demographic based
attributes include: Education (PEEDUCA), Race (PTDTRACE), Age (TEAGE), Labor status (TELFS), Sex (TESEX),
Number of children (TRCHILDNUM), and total hours usually worked/week (TEHRUSLT).
Here is an instance where respondents with a Bachelor’s Degree (PEEDUCA = 43) between the ages of 20-40
(TEAGE) are analyzed.
15. Questions for Visual Analysis
What associations can be found amongst the activity data
presented?
No matter what scope of demographics one analyzes, it seems there are only nuances in the
change of activity ratio. Here is a chart to show the general trend in analysis.
Rather than focusing on the nuances of demographically charged data, one
can focus on the general trends in activity by selecting
and adjusting the various levels of analysis.
