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Reading Activity Method

Time-Use Diaries for Studying Reading Practices

M Cecil Smith

Northern Illinois University

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Time-use diaries

Widely used in sociological research Method originated in the 1920s in the Soviet Union Time-use diaries have been used to study:

Sexual activities Leisure activities Nutritional practices Workplace productivity Child-rearing Distribution of household labor Television viewing habits (Nielson ratings)

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Time-use diaries

Time is a behavioral indicator of values and preferences “Time diary data can be construed as evidence

of the value people put on the activities in which they engage and in very real behavioral terms”

Time diary data show a clear relationship between general attitudes toward activities, such as reading, and time spent on these activities ▪ (Robinson, 1988)

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Categories of time use

PRODUCTIVE functions Contracted time (paid work) Committed time (housework & family care)

MAINTENANCE functions Personal time (sleeping, eating, grooming)

EXPRESSIVE functions Free time (TV, reading, socializing)

(Reading can be found across all of these)

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Types of time-use diaries

Retrospective (recall) “What do you do on a typical day?”

subject to recall error “What did you do yesterday?”

more accurate recall

Prospective Record activity as it occurs

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Time-use studies

Multi-national time use study (Szalai, 1972) 12 countries participated

Survey Research Center, U of Michigan (1965) N = 1,244 adults; 24 hr. diary

(Robinson, 1977)

Survey Research Center, U of Michigan (1975) N = 1,519 adults; 24 hr. diary

(Robinson, 1976)

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Advantages of time-use diaries

More accurate and unbiased data Participant recall problems diminished Better for obtaining data on low-frequency

events Can capture a wide variety of behavioral

and related (i.e., affective) data

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Disadvantages of time-use diaries

Increased “participant burden” Decreased cooperation Participant reactivity Yields missing data

when no behavior is recorded, does this indicate that no behavior occurred?

Huge volume of data increases labor and data processing / analyses costs

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Alternatives to time-use diaries

Direct observation of behavior Interviews Paper-and-pencil surveys / questionnaires Experience Sampling Method (ESM) Electronic trackers Telephone calls

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Reliability & validity of time-use diaries

Reliability frequently determined with alternate-form diaries (including phone calls, mail-back diaries, and personal interviews)

Validity frequently determined with independent observations, degree of correspondence between spousal couples, “shadow” technique

In general, time-use diaries are reliable and valid

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Time-use diaries in reading research

Greaney (1980) Irish 5th graders

Neuman (1982) 4th, 5th, 6th graders

Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding (1988) 5th graders

Taylor, Frye, & Maryuyama (1988) 5th & 6th graders

Smith (2000) adults

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The Reading Activity Method (RAM)

Notebook format (portable!) Instructions (detailed) Questionnaires Multiple data-gathering sheets

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Day: ___

Hour

Source Setting Amt. Mins.

Amt. Pages

Purpse Effort

5-1

Strats Enjoy

5-1

6 a – 7 a

7 a – 8 a

8 a – 9 a

9 – 10 a

10 – 11 a

11 – 12 a

RAM Diary Form

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Research questions

What are the characteristics of adults’ everyday reading practices?

How does the setting and the purpose for reading interact to determine selection of reading material, reading effort and enjoyment, and uses of learning strategies?

What are the associations of age, occupation, and education with reading practices?

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Sample characteristics

N = 154 adults 20 – 84 years of age 88 females, 66 males 84% White Occupations: 26% business; 24% clerical, sales,

service, production; 23% disciplinary & health care; 23% crafts & trades; 4% not in labor force

Graduate students recruited one participant each 5 participants had <HS diploma; 6 had doctoral degrees;

median educ attainment of sample = 15 years

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Design of study

Participants recruited in 5 waves over a period of 28 months (1993-1995) Waves ranged from 26 – 40 persons each

Participants were asked to keep a RAM diary for 5 days (Time 1) Three follow-up times over a 1-year period recorded RAM diary for 3 or 5 days (over 1 or 2 weeks)

90% of sample kept diary for requested number of days 30% kept diaries for at least 2 times of measurement

Only Time 1 data have been analyzed

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Role of theory and associated research literature

Readership studies W.S. Gray & B. Rogers: Maturity in Reading (1956) Surveys of adults’ reading habits

National Adult Literacy Survey (1992) More reading associated with higher levels of literacy

proficiency (Smith, 1996) Practice engagement theory (Reder, 1994)

literacy skills develop within particular contexts of practice

literacy develops primarily through individuals’ participation in literacy activities, rather than through school learning

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Design integrity

12% of sample randomly phone interviewed Estimate of actual amount of reading recorded Diary at hand all, most, some, none of time Difficulty of diary recording

Alternate form reliability study 119 university students 1 day diary 24 hour recall

RAM participants monitored for compliance 2 phone calls during recording period

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Limitations of RAM

Cannot compare reading to other activities that might support, undermine, or be unrelated to respondents’ reading (e.g., TV viewing, child-rearing, hobbies)

Biases respondents toward reading (R is aware that reading is focus of study; may over-report reading activity)

Robinson recommends open-ended rather than specific activity focus

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Lessons learned

Less is more Play close attention to the methodological

literature Don’t over-complicate the design and data

collection procedures Have a good data analysis plan in place Time-use diaries are a useful tool for studying

everyday literacy practices

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http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~smith/Conferences/2005/DiaryMethod.ppt