The Appropriate Methods for Implementing
Time-Use Survey in Iran
1. Introduction
One of the objectives of the Time Use Survey is to find how much unpaid work has been done in countries, being of particular significance in case of women. This survey, also, attempts to improve the imperfect picture presented by the designated economic indicators in this respect. Generally speaking, the major concern of the survey is to estimate what the people do, how they spend their time, how they do their every day activities, how much time they take to do either paid work or unpaid work, and to do personal and recreational activities as well as to consider the differences between the population groups and countries in these areas.
The number of countries collecting the data on Time Use has gradually been increasing since 1920, though standardization of a methodology dealing with the Time Use Survey has appeared as a serious challenge for the related international organizations.
In general, the theoretical foundations bearing on time use data collection can be divided into two major groups: those tending to "Economic Changes" and those to "Social Changes".
The socio-economic characteristics of the data collected from the Time Use Survey has persuaded countries to increasingly collect such data. The international organizations and above all the UN have contributed to the countries attaching importance to such a survey and willing to implement it, by providing them with the other countries' technical know-how and experiences. Such contributions, mostly scientific and technical, are mainly rendered in form of expert consultations, dispatching experts to the countries by request, providing the related standards and classifications as well as holding scientific conferences.
2. Why to carry out the T.U.S. in Iran?
Needless to say, the necessity of conducting the survey in the country is in direct link with its objectives. These objectives, being the case with Iran, are composed of studying the ratio of participation of men, women, and children in various household's economic and non-economic activities, estimating the unpaid work of individuals, particularly of women in comparison with the paid work, having an access to extensive data about labor force used in manufacture of products with emphasis on the age and sex distributions and on the way the individuals do their various every day activities. It has become more essential to achieve such objectives with respect to the changes occurred in the socio-economic conditions and structure of the country. In view of the fact that such changes have influenced women's contribution in the country's economic and non-economic activites, the measurement of their contribution in the household economy has been of potent significance. Meeting the National Accounts' requirements, being one of the major objectives of the data collection on time use, appears to be necessary as emphasized in the development of National Accounts System and the satellite accounts thereof.
3. The Survey's Objectives
General Goal
To obtain the statistical data on how the individuals in the society spend their time and the type and duration of the activities they do, according to the available classifications.
The detailed objectives
- To have an access to the detailed data on the paid work and unpaid work done by both male and female groups in urban and rural areas in order to identify the nature of the unpaid work and the way the household members participate in performing the household's activities.
- To use the survey's results to study the informal economic activities of the household members in urban and rural areas.
- To identify more about the market and non-market economic activities.
- To identify more about the manpower's characteristics in the country.
- To identify more about the pattern of the individuals' spare time use in the various socio-economic groups.
- To assess and compare the differences in time use procedure regionally, geographically and chronologically
4. The Survey's Characteristics
Statistical Population
The statistical population in this survey is all individuals, ten years of age and over, of the private settled households in urban and rural areas of the country.
The Statistical Frame
The preparation of the statistical frame for this survey is based on the results of the 1986 General Census of Population and Housing conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran.
The Sampling Unit
The sampling unit, visited by the enumerator in this survey, is a private settled household in the urban and rural areas.
The Enumeration Unit
The enumeration unit in this survey is all individuals, ten years of age and over, of a private settled household in urban and rural areas.
The Reference Period
The reference period in this survey consist of two continuous days during every week in each month of the year 2002 selected on a rotating basis.
The Enumeration Time
The enumeration time for this survey is the year 2002.
The Geographical Coverage
This survey is intended to cover all urban and rural areas in the country's provinces.
Data collection Method
Filling out the questionnaire by the household members themselves and through direct interview with them are two methods for data collection in this survey.
The sampling Method
The sampling method in this survey is the stratified two-stage sampling, that is to say the whole country is divided into two areas, urban and rural. The first sampling units are blocks in urban areas and villages in rural areas, whereas the final sampling units are the private settled households in both of the areas.
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