Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Consumer Expenditure Surveys

CE Survey Materials

This page provides access to materials used in the collection of data for the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey. Some of the material provided below represents several years. For example, the Diary Survey Form 2005-12 refers to all years from 2005 to 2012. Note, this page does not list materials for all survey years. If you are interested in materials for a year that is not listed, please contact us.

Three types of survey materials are provided.

  • Questionnaires and forms for the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey ask respondents about their expenditures and income. The Interview Survey is conducted with a computer assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) instrument. Before April 2003, the Interview Survey was conducted with a paper survey form. The Diary Survey is conducted with a CAPI household characteristics questionnaire and a paper diary survey form. Before 2003, the household characteristics questionnaire was also administered with a paper survey form.


  • Information Booklets, available for the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey, provide a statement on privacy, response options to survey questions, conceptual definitions and examples, a calendar, and calculation assistance. The information booklets increase the quality of CE data by making it easier for respondents to provide accurate responses. The sections of the booklets match those of their corresponding survey.


  • Interview Survey Control Cards were used prior to the adoption of the CAPI instrument for the purpose of collecting information on household members and administrative items. With the adoption of the CAPI instrument, control card questions were administered within the CAPI interview.



For additional information about the survey material or methods, please see the Handbook of Methods.

 

Interview Survey


Interview Survey Questionnaire


Interview Survey Information Booklet


Interview Survey Control Card



Diary Survey


Diary Survey Household Characteristics Questionnaire


Diary Survey Form


Diary Survey Information Booklet


 

Last Modified Date: September 16, 2022