Men's Group

Survey methodology

Data collection for the ATUS began in January 2003. Sample cases
for the survey are selected monthly, and interviews are conducted
continuously throughout the year. In 2012, approximately 12,500
individuals were interviewed. Estimates are released annually.

ATUS sample households are chosen from the households that
completed their eighth (final) interview for the Current Population
Survey (CPS), the nation's monthly household labor force survey. ATUS
sample households are selected to ensure that estimates will be
nationally representative.

One individual age 15 or over is randomly chosen from each sampled
household. This "designated person" is interviewed by telephone once
about his or her activities on the day before the interview--the "diary
day."

All ATUS interviews are conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone
Interviewing. Procedures are in place to collect information from the
small number of households that did not provide a telephone number
during the CPS interview.

ATUS designated persons are preassigned a day of the week about
which to report. Preassignment is designed to reduce variability in
response rates across the week and to allow oversampling of weekend
days so that accurate weekend day measures can be developed. Interviews
occur on the day following the assigned day. For example, a person
assigned to report about a Monday would be contacted on the following
Tuesday. Ten percent of designated persons are assigned to report about
each of the five weekdays. Twenty-five percent are assigned to report
about each weekend day. Households are called for up to 8 consecutive
weeks (for example, 8 Tuesdays) in order to secure an interview.

About the questionnaire

In the time diary portion of the ATUS interview, survey respondents
sequentially report activities they did between 4 a.m. on the day
before the interview ("yesterday&quot until 4 a.m. on the day of the
interview. For each activity, respondents are asked how long the
activity lasted. For activities other than personal care activities
(such as sleeping and grooming), interviewers also ask respondents
where they were and who was in the room with them (if at home) or who
accompanied them (if away from home). If respondents report doing
more than one activity at a time, they are asked to identify which one
was the "main" (primary) activity. If none can be identified, then
the interviewer records the first activity mentioned. After completing
the time diary, interviewers ask respondents additional questions to
clearly identify work, volunteering, and secondary childcare activities.
Secondary childcare is defined as having a child under age 13 in one's
care while doing other activities. Questions to identify eldercare
providers and activities done as eldercare were added to the survey in
2011.

In addition, the ATUS includes an update of the household
composition information from the last CPS interview (2 to 5 months
prior to the ATUS interview) and the employment status information
of the respondent and his or her spouse or unmarried partner. For
respondents who became employed or changed jobs between the last CPS
interview and the ATUS interview, information also is collected on
industry, occupation, class of worker, and earnings. For those who
are unemployed or on layoff, CPS questions on job search activities
are asked. Those who report being on layoff are asked if or when they
expect to be recalled to work. Finally, a question about current
school enrollment status is asked of all respondents ages 15 to 49.

After completing the interview, primary activity descriptions are
assigned a single 6-digit code using the ATUS Coding Lexicon. The 3-
tier coding system consists of 17 major activity categories, each with
multiple second- and third-tier subcategories. These coding lexicon
categories are then combined into composite categories for publication,
such as in this news release. Descriptions of categories shown in this
release can be found in the Major activity category definitions section
of this Technical Note. The 2012 ATUS Coding Lexicon can be accessed at