Description

OUTCOME_ALT presents an alternate classification scheme for the final outcome code for each ATUS sample member (respondents and non-respondents) based on the classification introduced in "Nonresponse in the American Time Use Survey: Who is Missing from the Data and how much does it Matter" ( Abraham, Maitland, and Bianchi, 2006). This variable indicates the outcome of the final attempt to interview each sample member.

This variable provides the same information as the variable OUTCOME but classifies outcomes differently. The classification of OUTCOME_ALT is not comparable to the seven broader interview status codes in INT_STAT2. Instead, the first digit of OUTCOME_ALT corresponds to eight broader interview status codes introduced in Abraham et al., 2006 as follows:

• Complete interview: includes complete interviews and sufficient partial interviews

• Not eligible: includes cases in which the designated person is underage, in the Armed Forces, not a household member, temporarily institutionalized, removed from sample, or not eligible due to miscellaneous reasons

• Noncontact 1 (cases in which contact was not attempted): includes cases in which designated person moved out or household is not a regular residence, and cases in which designated person is unavailable due to illness or hospitalization

• Noncontact 2 (cases in which inadequate contact information was provided): includes cases with privacy detectors, never contacted, unconfirmed numbers, households without telephone numbers, and unproductive call counters.

• Noncontact 3 (unsuccessful call attempts): includes incomplete callbacks, never contacted, confirmed numbers, and noncontacts because the designated person was temporarily unavailable (absent, ill, or hospitalized)

• Other: includes cases in which a language barrier prevented interviewing, invalid input, or other non-interview

• Refusal: includes direct refusal by the individual, parent, guardian, or by means of Congressional case, or due to poor data quality

• Unknown eligibility: includes cases whose eligible is not known due to unpublished or incorrect phone numbers

The three noncontact codes (codes 3-5) can be combined to form a broader noncontact category.

For cases in which the ATUS designated person was deceased, the case was considered not eligible and suppressed.

Case outcome was recorded during the final contact attempt for the ATUS interview, about 2-5 months after the final CPS interview, with the exception of cases coded as "Refusal" due to poor data quality (value 720). These codes were applied after interviews were completed and reviewed.

Comparability

OUTCOME_ALT is comparable across all years.

Universe

Availability

• 2003-2023

Flags