General Social Survey, Cycle 29, 2015 [Canada]: Time Use, Main File

The General Social Survey (GSS) gathers data on social trends in order to monitor changes in the living conditions and well-being of Canadians over time, and to provide immediate information on specific social policy issues of current or emerging interest. This survey monitors changes in time use to better understand how Canadians spend and manage their time and what contributes to their well-being and stress. The data collected provides information to all level of governments when making funding decisions, developing priorities and identifying areas of concern for legislation, new policies and programs. Researchers and other users use this information to inform the general Canadian population about the changing nature of time use in Canada such as: o Are we working too many hours and spending too much time commuting? o Do we have flexible work schedules? o Do we have enough time to play sports, participate in leisure activities or volunteer? o Are we spending enough quality time with our children, our families and our friends? o How has the internet and social media affected the way we spend our time? o Are we satisfied with our lives? New elements were introduced to the GSS cycle for 2015. First, the survey frame has changed. Previous GSS cycles on Time Use were conducted as Random Digit Dialling (RDD) surveys and did not include cellular numbers. In 2015,the survey was implemented using the redesigned GSS frame created in 2013, which integrates data from sources of telephone numbers (landline and cellular) available to Statistics Canada and the Address Register (AR). Second, there is a new weighting strategy and bootstrap weights have also been changed from mean bootstrap to standard bootstrap weights.