A survey of Tennessee households

Household production models assume resource allocation affecting the well-being of households occurs in many forms. The purpose of this study was to develop and pretest instruments for gathering these data in Tennessee households.

Three instruments were developed and tested; a sociodemographic questionnaire, a time diary, and an expenditure diary. Several methods were used to explore instrument validity/reliability. Means of time use compared favorably with a national sample and with information from the questionnaire, supporting the validity of the time diary. In addition, analysis of time diary data and demographic information from the questionnaire produced results similar to others. Differences between Tennessee households and the national sample support collecting data on Tennessee households. Several statistical analyses did not support the expenditure diary as an adequate method. In general, the response rate within the questionnaire was favorable, with the exception of income information. Comparability of questionnaire and time diary was attenuated by an insufficient number of directly corresponding items and by the instruments not sampling the same time period.

In addition to showing the need for a revision of the time diary and questionnaire and selection of an alternative method of gathering expenditure data, these tools provide direction for instrument administration and evaluation in future studies. Also, a review of some current technologies suggest possible improvements in data collection methods.

The comparison of time use data gathered by two types of instruments displays how such a comparison can support the validity of both. Instead of analyzing each atomistic time use category, this study grouped time use into five conceptual clusters to allow more meaningful analyses. This is recommended for future studies.

In conclusion, the present study suggests that with proper methodological care, data on resource allocation gathered from Tennessee households, can provide a valuable tool for guiding state economic policy formulation in the future.