Experiences with the light-version time diary in Finland

Statistics Finland has conducted four nationally representative time use surveys with diaries filled in by respondents and later coded by the agency. The surveys have been conducted at intervals of approximately ten years. However, faster provision of data on changes in the use of time is needed, for example, for the calculations of the household satellite account. For this purpose, Statistics Finland has developed a light time diary, tested at its Survey Laboratory by means of the focus group interview procedure. The light diary comprises 35 pre-coded main activity categories as well as data on with whom time is spent. The diary served as a pilot survey conducted as a postal inquiry among a population of 1,000 persons in March 2010 at the same time as the time use survey was carried out by means of the full-scale diary. The aim of the pilot survey was to study whether results comparable with those of the full-scale diary can be produced with the light diary. The control data were data from the diaries kept in the full-scale time use survey in March. The same 35-category classification of activities as in the light diary data was formed for the control data. The presentation evaluates the effect of the data collection method on the response rate of the light-diary survey and the quality of the diary responses, and comparison is made on the estimates for time use obtained with the light diary and the full-scale diary