British Household Panel Survey Calibrated Time Use Data, 1994-2004

For this project, a set of time use variables were calibrated for the <i>British Household Panel Survey</i> (BHPS), which ran from 1991-2009 (see the <a href="http://discover.ukdataservice.ac.uk/series/?sn=200005" title="BHPS">BHPS series</a> webpage), using evidence derived from a smaller-scale panel survey that collected time use information by both the survey and diary methods, <i>Home OnLine, 1998-2001</i> (HoL) (held at the UK Data Archive under SN 4607). Past research has suggested that the time diary method produces more accurate and reliable measures of time use than the survey approach. The diary approach, however, usually has a low response rate and is not practicable for a large-scale panel study like the BHPS. However, direct questioning in survey interviews is a relatively flexible approach to collecting time use data. The project therefore developed a method to combine the strengths of the survey approach and the diary method. The survey part of HoL shared the same questionnaire-derived time use predictor variables with the BHPS. Regression of the predictors on the time diary data in the HoL study was used to calibrate time use in the BHPS by multiplying the resulting regression coefficients with the same BHPS predictor variables. This produced a calibrated index of time use patterns based on BHPS questionnaire items. The calibrated time use variables cover all major categories of daily activities and are available in Wave 4 (1994) to Wave 14 (2004) of the BHPS.<br><br>