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Time Budget Methodologyin Social Science Research

Ethnicity and Aging

K. Victor Ujimoto

INTRODUCTION

Recent developments in the application of information technology haveprovided the means of acquiring new forms of data in social scienceresearch. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, information technology wasrelatively unknown. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, information technol-ogy that revolved around high speed computing and much greater data-storage capability enabled social science data acquisition systems to begreatly improved. The introduction of portable computers also contrib-uted to changes in the ways in which data were acquired and stored. In thisregard, social science research that used time-budget or time use meth-odologies benefited considerably.

Time-budget methodology involves the collection of data on variousactivities over a specified period of time, such as the 24-hour day, severaldays, or over the whole week. The data are essentially observations ofwhat people do in time and space, either as individuals or in groups. De-pending on the nature of the information required, human activities can be

K. Victor Ujimoto • Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph,

Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1.

Time Use Research in the Social Sciences, edited by Wendy E. Pentland, Andrew S. Harvey, M.Powell Lawton, and Mary Ann McColl. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, 1999.

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232 K. VICTOR UJIMOTO

recorded at specified intervals by trained observers or by the survey respondents themselves.

There are several reasons why time-budget methodology has not been utilized until very recently in social science research. The first reason, as noted by Ujimoto (1991), stemmed from the fact that the methodology required respondents to record their daily activities for the previous day based on recall, and for some respondents, this created problems in both validity and reliability of the data because of their limited recall ability. This problem has been reduced considerably in recent studies by having respondents record their activities regularly at their convenience through-out the day as they take place.

The second reason for the reluctance in employing time-budget meth-odology in social science research was based on difficulties in analyzing a plethora of data. Time-budget studies yield a very rich source of data about our research subjects. In addition to the information on the temporal distribution of daily or weekly human activities, time-budget methodol-ogy permits the researcher to obtain additional information on each of the activities, such as duration, frequency, location of activities, the social net-works involved (e.g., kinship or friendship), and the sequence of events. Therefore, prior to recent developments in information technology and computer programs capable of analyzing vast quantities of data, re-searchers were understandably reluctant to collect time-budget data.

With particular reference to gerontological research, there is another reason why time-budget methodology has not received much wider rec-ognition as a useful means for collecting data. Until very recently specific hypothesis testing did not encourage the use of multiple measures of a given phenomenon. A good illustration of this can be found in those studies on life satisfaction or well-being of the elderly in which various activities in daily living were noted only as a single objective measure in terms of what people did. Other objective measures such as the duration, frequency, and sequence of activities, as well as the social environment in which various activities took place, were not considered. Furthermore, the qualitative aspects of each of the activities were seldom addressed.

Finally time-budget methodology can be a costly and time-consumingtechnique for data acquisition if the research objectives are not very clearly specified at the outset. The research objectives should be grounded in theory, with time-budgets utilized as a methodology to secure additional information on the phenomenon to be examined. In what follows, I pro-vide a very brief overview of several studies that utilize time-budgetmethodology to show some of its advantages, particularly with referenceto the multidimensionality of activity data.

ETHNICITY AND AGING 233

There are several recent studies that employed time-budget meth-odology. In the study by Moss and Lawton (1982), participants were asked to recount for the interviewer each sequential activity of the previous day from the time they woke up. For each activity, participants were asked tostate the location of the activity, the social context in which the activity took place (i.e., with whom), and the qualitative aspects of the activity (like, dislike, etc.). The time-budget methodology enabled Moss and Law-ton to compare the daily life patterns for the four subgroups in their sample in terms of the proportion of time (mean minutes) spent on obliga-tory and discretionary activities, and in different social and environmental contexts. Although the subjective evaluations for each activity based on a " liking score" were also included as an integral aspect of the Moss andLawton time-budget study, the four 7-point semantic differential items employed in the Larson, Zuzanek, and Mannel (1985) study appear to provide a much richer subjective evaluation of activities.

Another study that utilized time-budget data is that done by Altergott (1985), which investigated how marital status in late life influenced social participation in various daily activities. Her study was based on a second-ary analysis of a national time use survey conducted by Juster, Courant, Duncan, Robinson, and Stafford (1977). In this survey, participants pro-vided reports on their activities for a single day on two weekdays and on weekends. The time budgets provided a record of the duration of activ-ities, social context, and details on other peripheral activities that took place at the same time as the primary activity. Individual time use records were used by Altergott (1985) to construct 10 separate measures of involve-ment, which were as follows: time spent in solitude, time with one'sspouse or fiance(e), time with one’s children living in the same household, time with other household adults, time with friends and relatives, time with colleagues, time with organization members, time with neighbors, time with service providers, and time with strangers and acquaintances. Of particular significance to our discussion on time-budget studies are the data analysis strategies presented by Altergott in order to examine her time-budget data. First, at the aggregate level, Altergott was able to pre-sent data on the average time spent in a particular role relationship as well as in other, more general social involvement. Second, multiple regression analysis enabled Altergott to provide some indication of the effect of marital status and gender, while controlling for health and propensity to interact, on individual social involvement.

The study by Ujimoto (1985) used time budgets to investigate the degree of social integration of aged ethnic minorities by determining their time use patterns for daily activities and to see if there were any differences


when compared to the activity patterns of the majority members of the community. The community selected for this study was La Villeneuve, France, because it was a planned community that was developed to ac-commodate a wide range of socioeconomic, aged, and diverse ethnic groups. Based on the assumption that planned social and physical envi-ronments facilitate the degree of integration of the aged ethnic minorities by providing opportunities for social involvement, it was hypothesized that the time use patterns for participation in various activities by the majority French and minority non-French elderly would be similar if the non-French elderly were integrated into the planned community. Thishypothesis was examined using the combined techniques of participant observations, time-budget records of sequential daily activities, and a questionnaire for sociodemographic information. The data obtained pro-vided the following information: (1) the frequency and duration of activ-ities, (2) the social context in which various activities took place, and (3) in-formation on whether a given activity was initiated by self or by someone else (e.g., by a visitor or by a social animatrice in charge of organized activity).

The utility of time-budget methodology can be noted when making comparisons in daily activities across different immigrant groups. In the comparative study of daily activities by the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean elderly in Canada, Ujimoto (1991) reported that the Korean elderly had the highest percentage of family-oriented activities, followed by the Chinese elderly. This is show in Table 11.1 below. Note that the Korean elderly also had the highest percentage of activities with other relatives. In contrast, the Japanese elderly had the highest percentage of friends.

The data shown in Table 11.2 indicate that the Koreans, who had the least duration of residence in Canada, tended to interact more within their own ethnic group than the Japanese and Chinese elderly. The variations in activity patterns as illustrated in Tables 11.1 and 11.2 tend to indicate that the more recent the immigrant group in Canada, the greater the tendency for activities to be centered on the family and within one’s own ethnic group. This study revealed that 93.5% of the elderly Koreans in the sample of respondents were immigrants sponsored by their relatives. In the case of the Chinese and Japanese, 67.6% and 55.6%, respectively, were spon-sored by relatives other than their spouse. Although 30.7% of the Japanese respondents indicated that they were sponsored by their spouse, only 2.2% of the Koreans and 17.8% of the Chinese respondents were sponsored by their spouse. Unlike the Japanese community, which was scattered across the country by the infamous War Measures Act in 1942, the Chinese and Korean communities are relatively well established, or in Breton's (1964)term, they were institutionally complete. Furthermore, the policy of multi-


Table 11.1. Weekend Activitiesat Home with Others or Alone

With Chinese Japanese Korean

spouse 14.4% 19.9% 9.9% Family 32.7 20.5 49.3Other relatives 3.8 1.9 7.3 Friends 6.7 12.0 3.3 Acquaintances 1.4 2.2 2.6Visi tors 3.0 0.0 0.0 Alone 38.0 43.5 27.6

n = 677 100% (208) 100% (317) 100% (152)

Source:Ujimoto(1991).

culturalism encouraged the more recent immigrants to Canada to retaintheir cultural identity and to transact their businesses within their own ethnic environment.

There are two possible explanations for the observation that the Ko-rean elderly tended to spend considerably more time with their families and relatives. First, the Koreans were extremely active in religious activ-ities such as prayer meetings, Bible studies, and family worship. Second, Koreans tended to be engaged in family enterprises that enabled them to be together more often for both family and business purposes. For the Korean elderly, nearly half of the weekend activities outside the home were taken up in religious activities either at church or at the seniors’ center. For them, church-related activities provided the central focus around which many other social activities were formed. Weekend excur-sions to various places of interest, for example, were with friends who

Table 11.2. Weekend Activities at Home with Other Ethnic Groups or Alone

With Chinese Japanese Korean

Canadians 0.0% 1.3% 0.0% Chinese 67.0 0.0 0.0 Chinese Canadians 1.0 0.0 0.0

Korean company 0.5 0.3 72.4

Alone 38.0 43.5 27.6

Japanese Canadians 0.0 54.9 0.0

Mixed company 1.9 0.0 0.0

n= 683 100% (207) 100% (317) 100% (159)

Source:Ujimoto(1991).


knew each other through their church affiliations. This pattern of social networks based on church connections was also manifested in the provi-sion of social supports and caregiving when required.

TIME-BUDGET METHODOLOGY FOR GERONTOLOGY

While the main advantages of time-budget methodology for research on aging may be self-evident from the brief overview of the various studies provided here, there are other significant aspects of the time-budget methodology that should be noted, particularly with reference to research on aging. As noted by Szalai (1972), Little (1984), Juster and Stafford (1985), and others, the daily time expenditure for all primary activities must add up to 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes. Therefore, within the constraints of the 24-hour day, it is obvious that the time expended for a particular primary activity can only be increased if the time spent on other primary activities is decreased. This is an important factor to note in longitudinal studies in which changes in frequency and duration of a given primary activity must be determined. For example, a person who is in relatively good health may sleep quite soundly during the night without any interruptions for 8 hours. At a later date, this same individual may experience a health problem that necessitates frequent visits to the toilet. In this case, the time expended on washroom activities during the night may only be at the expense of sleep. This specific example may appear to be quite trivial; however, changes in activity patterns over a period of time can provide meaningful information in terms of the well-being of the elderly. The precise measurement of the allocation of time to a given activity at two different points in time can provide an accurate assessment of change that may enable social policy planners to base their decisions on crucial information and not on speculation.

Activity patterns for older people may differ considerably compared to younger people, and time-budget data are helpful in establishing the specific nature of these differences. For example, retired older people do not have the constraint of reporting for work at a predetermined time; consequently, the allocation of time to various activities tends to shift throughout the day and eventually throughout the week. Similarly as one ages, nighttime activities also tend to vary. Golant (1984) has shown that nighttime activities of old people do indeed vary depending on individual attributes and environmental variables. Since time-budget diaries estab-lish the start and end of an activity, it is possible to ascertain precisely when certain types of activities take place. In an institutional setting, for example, unforeseen activities that take place at unusual times of the day


might require a shift in the allocation of resources in order to provide the necessary services at a time when these activities are taking place. It is not too uncommon for some elderly person to go to sleep quite early in the evening and to wake up equally early at a time most people consider to be the middle of the night. What can the elderly do at such an early hour ifservices are not provided to accommodate their needs? The well-being of the elderly can be enhanced considerably if social service providers are knowledgeable of the needs of the elderly throughout the 24-hour day and are able to adjust the allocation of resources accordingly.

An aspect of time-budget data that is of interest to the study of well-being of the elderly is the possibility of analyzing the allocation of time for those primary activities perceived to be satisfying to the elderly in terms of location and social context. Szalai (1984, p. 23) notes that the distinction between the main or primary and concomitant activities is at the discretion of the individual; however, if the frequency, duration, location of the activity, and social context, or with whom the activity takes place, are examined in conjunction with a subjective evaluation of the primary activ-ity, this will provide the researcher with additional information in differen-tiating between satisfying and nonsatisfying activities. It is quite conceiv-able that we may find a given primary activity in a certain environment to be less satisfying than that same activity in another context. Listening to music for several hours in solitude may be the primary activity, but this may not be as satisfying as listening to music with someone with whom one may share and discuss certain aspects of the music. This example illustrates the significance of the social context of an activity when the subjective dimension is introduced in our analysis. It also illustrates the importance of knowing the specific research objectives, so that both quan-titative and qualitative aspects of the desired data can be accurately mea-sured and analyzed.

One of the objectives for research on aging may be the planning and development of social environments that can increase the well-being of the elderly. In this regard, time-budget data can provide valuable information on the pattern of activities most predictive of well-being. Similarly, time-budget data can also provide insights on stressful events and activities. A careful analysis of the social context in which the stressful activity occurs is important in determining how the aged person was or was not able to cope

with the stressful situation. There is now accumulating evidence that coping plays a central role in reducing stress-related illnesses and promot-ing good health (Antonovsky, 1979; Wong & Reker, 1984). Coping is partic-ularly relevant to aging because many changes that come with advancing age require psychosocial adjustments (Renner & Birren, 1980). The utiliza-tion of time-budget methodology to determine those activities most pre-


dictive of well-being of the aged is still in its infancy (Ujimoto 1985); however, it holds some promise for applied social gerontology.

REFINEMENTS IN TIME-BUDGET METHODOLOGY

Refinements to the traditional time-budget survey instrument have been made by Ujimoto (1993) by applying the kaizen principle. In Japanese, kaizen means continuous improvement, and according to Lillrank and Kano (1989), kaizen is characterized by (1) improvement that combines both innovation and maintenance, (2) improvement that takes place in small steps, (3) improvement that involves everyone, and (4) improvement that emphasizes the production process. With reference to these characteristics, Imai (1986) argues that there is one major difference between kaizen andinnovation. Innovation usually calls for a sudden change, and this may require a considerable increase in investment. In contrast, kaizen occursgradually and as a continuous incremental process. Everyone is involved in the process of change, since the change process or improvement itself originates through discussions.

In applying kaizen principles to existing time-budget instruments, we must take into account the special needs in differentiating daily activity patterns for both caregivers and care recipients. The specific requirements in differentiating daily activities of caregivers and those of care recipients stem from the limitations in data acquisition instruments used in caregiv-ing research. In most such studies, respondents are usually asked to indi-cate just how much help is provided in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The activity categories are most often preselected categories such as personal care, help with household chores, and help with transpor-tation, shopping, or banking. A major disadvantage with preselected cate-gories can be seen if we consider just one example such as personal care.

Personal caregiving can consist of a range of activities depending on the degree of assistance required. It may begin with help in getting out of bed, providing support to go to the washroom, and assistance with per-sonal grooming, toileting, bathing, and dressing. Each of these activities may require different amounts of time. Furthermore, while one activity may be taking place, multiple activities may also be taking place. For example, while bathing one’s elderly parent, meaningful conversations can take place that may be in the form of reminiscing about how roles have now reversed themselves. Again, while the bathing activity may be taking place, it is quite possible that several other activities may be occurring at the same time, such as listening to the radio and cooking breakfast. It is suggested that multiple activities can be captured through improvements


to the standard time-budget methodology. In other words, kaizen princi-ples can be applied to capture those aspects of caregiving that may be important in developing social policy at a later date.

Modifications to the Robinson (1977) instrument were made by Ujimoto (1985) when 1-minute intervals were used with bold lines at 5-minute intervals. The 1-minute interval was necessary when applyingtime-budgets to gerontological research. Many of the caregiving activities were relatively short in duration, for example, administering an aspirin or some other medication. Another modification that was necessary for cap-turing the caregiving role was to differentiate between the "with whom"type activity and the " for whom" caregiving activity.

The nature of time-budget methodology is to secure data on variousactivities over a specified period of time. In gerontological research, ample space must be provided on the time-budget sheets to capture multiple activities. In order to secure an accurate picture of daily activities as muchas possible, the continuous 24-hour method of recording activities at regu-lar, convenient periods for the recorder is desired. Unlike the aged, with ample time to pass the day, caregivers are extremely busy people and most often are under considerable stress. Sufficient incentives must be provided to the caregiver to record faithfully all activities.

One other way to record caregiver activities involves the use of partic-ipant observers only during the working hours of the caregiver, or during those times of the day in which multiple activities are taking place. Sincethis is an extremely costly methodology, it may be necessary to compro-mise on the data collection by selecting certain days of the week rather than administering time budgets for the entire week. The richness in the data obtained through time budgets must be carefully weighed in terms ofthe costs. If it is not necessary to differentiate such activities as personal care or household chores, then the preselected categories will suffice.

Variations in the allocation of time to various activities before and during breakfast provide another indication of the degree of assistance that is required for the caregiving role. The caregiver role in addition to one’s own personal grooming and care requires at least an hour. This contrasts with a minimum of approximately 15 minutes to half an hour for one’s breakfast if caregiving duties are not required. The richness of thetime-budget data is self-evident compared to the standard question, "How

often have you helped with personal care?", in which the respondent isasked to check one of the boxes that range from never, once a month, or less, several times a month, once a week, several times a week, and daily. Time budgets provide a wider range of activity patterns throughout the 24-hour day as well as during the whole week.

The problem of not being able to associate each caregiving or other


activity with some measure of satisfaction or dissatisfaction can be cor-rected by attaching another column in which the respondent can indicate the level of satisfaction for each activity. For example, the general caregiv-ing activities associated with personal care can be satisfactory if the care-giver perceives the time spent as an opportunity to have a meaningful conversation or as a period for reminiscing. Also, if the caregiving activ-ities are perceived to be fulfilling one’s filial obligations, then there may be variations in the level of satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, an overview of social science research utilizing time-budget methodology was provided. Previously, this methodology re-quired considerable resources to acquire and process the data on daily-lifeactivities. Recent improvements in information technology, however, have enabled researchers today to use the time-budget methodology much more frequently and in a cost-effective manner. Thus, one of the major factors that prevented researchers from employing time-budget methodol-ogy is now on the decline, and we can expect to observe far greater use of time-budget methodology. Time-budget data should be used in associa-tion with other forms of data, including qualitative observations.

Several advantages in, using time-budget methodology in social sci-ence research were also noted. Unlike previous research on various daily-life activities in which only the frequency of specific activities were re-corded in an imprecise manner, time-budget methodology provides a more accurate record of both frequency and duration of each activity. As noted by Szalai (1972), Little (1984), Juster and Stafford (1985), Altergott (1988), and many others who have used time budgets, the daily time expenditure for all primary activities must add up to 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes. Therefore, within the constraints of the 24-hour day, it is obvious that the time expended for a particular primary activity can only be increased if the time spent on other primary activities is decreased. This is an extremely important point to note in social science research, and it may eventually be used to develop social policy.

Another major advantage in employing time-budget methodology over conventional questionnaire surveys is that multiple activities can be recorded. Not everyone goes to sleep at night. There are shift-workerssuch as nurses, ambulance drivers, airline crews, and air traffic controllers, just to mention a few occupations in which the conventional work patterns as well as sleep patterns are modified. Time-budget methodology captures


the variations in work-sleep patterns by providing exact time allocations to various activities.

Analysis of time-budget data over a given period or shift cycle may point out certain deficits in healthful activities. Furthermore, activities that are clearly seen as creating stress may be identified and eradicated. For example, in the caregiving area of health service provision, both unfore-seen and predictable events often result in extraordinary caregiver burden, which necessitates a change in both caregiver and care recipient’s daily routine activities. A 24-hour activity pattern based on time-budget meth-odology can assist in establishing meaningful social and health policies that can be of mutual benefit to both caregiver and care receiver.

Finally, time-budget surveys that are conducted at regular specified intervals can provide an accurate assessment of change in daily work activities and even procedures. Such data can greatly assist both em-ployees and employers to reach mutually beneficial outcomes, but only if there is a corporate or institutional culture within which individuals seek continuous improvements. The principles of kaizen, or continuous im-provement, can only be put into practice if there is a solid foundation of empirical data over time that is able to detect change and to eventually predict possible outcomes.

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Ujimoto, K. V. (1991). Ethnic variations in the allocation of time to leisure activities. Loisir et Société/Society and Leisure, 14, 557–573.

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Canadian Journal on Aging, 3,23–32.

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