Leveraging Archival Data in Global Work-Family Research: The Case of Time Use Data

In this chapter we introduce time use data as a resource for studying work and family across cultures. We describe the historical relevance of time use studies, and the main methods of data collection. We discuss their main advantages and disadvantages, arguing that time use surveys based on diaries are the most reliable way to collect time use data. We show the existence of time use data for various countries and we discuss challenges for comparing time diary data across time and space. Data comparability and survey complexity are barriers to working with time use surveys from different countries. However, some initiatives have partially addressed these issues by providing streamlined access to the datasets and making them easier to manage. Finally, we include a case study illustrating how time diary data may be used to compare family time in the United States and Spain.