Date and time answers
Key Considerations
Generic date and time can be used in most circumstances.
Specifically labelled date response domains are created for significant dates, e.g. ‘Date of Birth’.
Duration is only used for a specific event with a beginning and end.
Date and time (Datetime) answers are used when the response to a question is a date, time, or a measurable length of time (Duration).
Common Datetime answers:
Label | Type | Datetime Type | Format (ISO 8601) | Usage |
Generic date | Datetime | Date | None | All date responses except date of birth or death |
Date of birth | Datetime | Date | None | Response to all date of birth questions (cohort member, mother, other relations, etc.) |
Date of death | Datetime | Date | None | Response for all date of death questions (cohort member, mother, other relations, etc.) |
Generic time | Datetime | Time | None | All time responses except time of birth or death |
Time of death | Datetime | Time | None | Response for all time of death questions (cohort member, mother, other relations, etc.) |
Years Months | Datetime | Duration | PnnYnnM | Duration responses expressed in years and months |
Hours Minutes | Datetime | Duration | PTnnHnnM | Duration responses expressed in hours and minutes |
Date answers
Most date responses are entered as a ‘Generic date’ answer. A 'Generic date' answer can be used if the question asks for the day, month, year; month, year; or just the year something occurred. Answers to questions that ask for a day in a month only, or month in a year only, cannot be input as a Date answer - they are input as specifically labelled numeric answers. See example.
When creating a Date answer, the Label and Type fields are filled in (see below).
Archivist Build / Response Domains:
Text included in the questionnaire which indicates the date format (i.e. “date masks” such as 'day month year') is not entered as the format is implicit in the Date answer (see below). See Transcribing guidance for more information.
Questionnaire: ALSPAC My Teenage Son
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (alspac_04_mtsd):
Specifically labelled Date answers
Specifically labelled Date answers are created for unique, significant life events, e.g. birth date and death date. Date-specific responses about different people (cohort member, mother, partner) do not require the creation of separate Date answers. For example, the same ‘Date of birth’ answer is used for all birth date responses in a questionnaire.
Time answers
Most time responses are entered as a ‘Generic time’ answer. When creating a Time answer, only the Label and Type fields are filled in (see below).
Archivist Build / Response Domains:
The same ‘Generic time’ answer is used regardless of whether the time response in a questionnaire is unformatted or specified - for example ‘hour/minute’ or ‘24 hr clock’ (see example below).
Questionnaire: HCS Overnight Urine Collection
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist view (hcs_2_clinic_10):
As with date masks, text included in the questionnaire that indicates the time format ('hh mm' in example above) is not entered as the format is implicit in the Time answer. See Transcribing guidance for additional information.
Specifically labelled Time answers
Specifically labelled Time answers are created only for unique, significant life events, e.g. time of birth and time of death. Question responses such as time of interview, test, measurement, sample, admission, completion, etc. are all entered as a ‘Generic time’ answer.
Duration answers
Duration answers are used when a response requires a period of time answer. In order for a Duration answer to be used, it must meet the following criteria:
The time period must be for a specific event…
for a continuous period of time…
with the period must be sufficiently described, so that the start and end of the event are discrete time points…
and there are at least two time elements indicated in the question response (years, months; hours, minutes).
Responses that do not meet the criteria for a duration are entered as a numeric answer. Examples of time period responses that are not a duration can be found here.
Duration answers must have the Label, Type and Format fields entered. Text in the question indicating the duration period (e.g. … years, …months) is not included in the question text, as the duration period is defined in the duration format field.
The Label should reflect the time elements in the duration, i.e. if the Duration is expressed in years and months, then the Duration answer would be labelled ‘Years Months’. The Type is input as a ‘Duration’. The Format field defines the period of time contained in the question response using the ISO 8601 standard for displaying a duration. The standard takes the form of ‘PnnYnnMnnDTnnHnnMnnS’. Elements may be omitted if their value is zero, e.g. for an answer expressed as ‘Years Months’ the format would be ‘PnnYnnM’. For an answer expressed as ‘Hours Minutes’ the format would be PTnnHnnM.
Example 1
Questionnaire: ALSPAC Mother’s Lifestyle
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist Build / Response Domains:
Archivist view (alspac_96_ml):
Additional examples of questions with Duration answers can be found here.
Duration response with an unspecified time period
If a time period response is for a specific event over a continuous period of time, but the response does not specify any time period units (years, months; hours, minutes, etc.), a Duration answer is created with the Format field left blank. The answer Label should reference the response to the question. (i.e. Duration, Time taken).
Example 2
Questionnaire: BCS Parental Interview 1980
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist Build / Response Domains:
Archivist view (bcs_80_pi):
Example 3
Questionnaire: NSHD Pupil’s Questionnaire 1962
Questionnaire layout:
Archivist Build / Response Domains:
CLOSER Discovery (nshd_62_cms):