How social processes distort measurement: the impact of survey nonresponse on estimates of volunteer work in the United States.

The authors argue that both the large variability in survey estimates of volunteering and the fact that survey estimates do not show the secular decline common to other social capital measures are caused by the greater propensity of those who do volunteer work to respond to surveys. Analyses of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS)--the sample for which is drawn from the Current Population Survey (CPS)--together with the CPS volunteering supplement show that CPS respondents who become ATUS respondents report much more volunteering in the CPS than those who become ATUS nonrespondents. This difference is replicated within subgroups.

Health-related activities in the American Time Use Survey.

Objectives: The Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey (ATUS), launched in 2003, offers the first comprehensive look at how individuals spend their time. Health services researchers can use it to study time spent on a variety of health-related activities. We explain the survey's structure and provide an overview of the health-related activities reported by 34,693 respondents in 2003-2004.