Abstract
Self-report time use diaries collect a continuous sequenced record of daily activities but the validity of the data they produce is uncertain. This study tests the feasibility of using wearable cameras to generate, through image prompted interview, reconstructed 'near-objective' data to assess their validity. 16 volunteers completed the Harmonised European Time Use Survey (HETUS) diary and used an Autographer wearable camera (recording images at approximately 15 second intervals) for the waking hours of the same 24-hour period. Participants then completed an interview in which visual images were used as prompts to reconstruct a record of activities for comparison with the diary record. 14 participants complied with the full collection protocol. We compared time use and number of discrete activities from the diary and camera records (using 10 classifications of activity). In terms of aggregate totals of daily time use we found no significant difference between the diary and camera data. In terms of number of discrete activities, participants reported a mean of 19.2 activities per day in the diaries, while image prompted interviews revealed 41.1 activities per day. The visualisations of the individual activity sequences reveal some potentially important differences between the two record types, which will be explored at the next project stage. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using wearable cameras to reconstruct time use through image prompted interview in order to test the concurrent validity of 24-hour activity time-use budgets. In future we need a suitably powered study to assess the validity and reliability of 24-hour time use diaries.
Highlights
Time Use DiariesWe are not in general aware of the quantities of time we devote to the activities of our normal days
This study demonstrates the feasibility of using wearable cameras to reconstruct time use through image prompted interview in order to test the concurrent validity of 24-hour activity time-use budgets
The aim of this study was to test the feasibility of using wearable camera images to reconstruct an ‘objective’ record of daily time use that can be used to assess the concurrent validity of self-reported diary records
Summary
Time Use DiariesWe are not in general aware of the quantities of time we devote to the activities of our normal days. Time use diaries are used by sociologists and economists to document the hours and minutes spent on various daily activities such as paid work, watching television, exercising, other leisure activities, sleeping, child and elder care and household work [1,2] They are increasingly used by health researchers, insofar as these same activities are differentially associated with levels of exercise or sedentary behaviour, as well as nutritional behaviour (meals versus ‘browsing’), relaxation and sleep patterns [3,4,5]. Time use diary data provide information on how a given activity is placed sequentially in relation to other leisure and non-leisure activities, as well as the geographical location of activities, the time at which they occurred, and the sequence of temporal-spatial locations [6] These data allow researchers to explore important trends, correlates and determinants in behaviour. This in turn helps us to better understand the implications of social change and identify areas for policy and intervention, for example around gender equality or health outcomes
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