Time Use Research (TUR) is usually carried out using questionnaires and diaries. Respondents complete, for example at the end of the day, all their activities of one day during consecutive fixed time-slots. Current technology, such as Smartphones and “apps”, allows TUR to be set up in a completely different way. Respondents carrying a Smartphone can enter their activities several times during a day. In addition, Smartphones enable to collect complementary data, such as the GPS location of the respondent at the time of the activity or photos and videos of the activity performed.
CentERdata, a research institute associated with Tilburg University, and The Netherlands Institute for Social Research have jointly started to collect experimental time-use data using Smartphones. CentERdata is the operator of the LISS panel (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences); an online panel based on a true probability sample of households. For the pilot study in November 2011, a special TUR app was developed by CentERdata. We were especially interested in the suitability of the app for this purpose, the effect of this method of data collection and the influence of experience with Smartphones on the quality of the data. Therefore, we selected 50 participants who owned an Android Smartphone and 50 participants without a Smartphone. The latter participants were provided with an Android Smartphone by CentERdata, with the TUR app already installed on it. The participants owning a Smartphone could download the app.
The paper will present the willingness and capacity of respondents to participate in the Smartphone TUR study. Furthermore, we analyze differences in the response behavior between the Smartphone-owners and the respondents provided with a Smartphone for this study. Additionally, we look at the quality of the resulting data and the general feasibility of collecting TUR data in this way.