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The Coding role can be broken down into two general tasks: Time Diary Coding activities and Direct Data Entry (DDE). The Survey Research Center was responsible for maintaining data quality while moving the raw data from paper into electronic data.

Coding

Extensive coding of the Home Time Diaries and School Time Diaries was required before data entry. A complex coding scheme was developed to define the activities described in the Home Time Diaries. Additional codes were developed to describe the location of the activities, all participants in the activity, and others nearby. These codes can be found in the full coding manual that lists the codes and describes the special concerns which might arise when coding time diaries. This is available from study staff on request.

The codebook for the Child Development Supplement was adapted from a time diary codebook developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s for a project entitled "Time Use in Social and Economic Accounts" (Juster & Stafford, 1985). Some modifications for coding children's activities were added in the early 1980s. Coding schemes were revised for the 1997 data collection, and revisions were made during the coding process in order to cover all activities.

Direct Data Entry

In DDE, the data from all of the various questionnaires (including the Time Diaries) was entered into the SAS data entry application, verifying that entry was accurate, and logging and filing materials as tasks are completed.

Occupation Coding

Occupation coding was used in the Father Outside of the Home-Household Questionnaire. All other occupational information for the household can be found in the PSID interview. We used the 1970 three-digit Census Bureau occupational codes, the same codes that the PSID uses.