2005 Consumption and Activities Mail Survey (CAMS)

CAMS 2005 is the third wave of the Consumption and Activities Mail Survey that began in 2001 with 5,000 individuals in 5,000 randomly selected households from the HRS. In 2005, in coupled or partnered households, both individuals were included in the sample. They are referred to as R and SP, where R is the respondent who was selected for prior waves of CAMS and SP is the spouse or partner of the R. In the 2005 CAMS there were two different versions of questionnaires. The first consisted of activities and consumption, or the “full” questionnaire (as was the case in 2001 and 2003), and the second "partial" questionnaire contained only the questions about activities. The "full" questionnaire was mailed to Rs (as defined above) and the "partial" questionnaire was mailed to their spouse or partner (SP). In the fall of 2005, a total of 8,124 questionnaires were mailed. Of the 8,124 questionnaires, 5,440 were "full" and 2,684 were "partial" questionnaires. A total of 5,815 questionnaires were returned, and of these, 3,880 were the "full" version and 1,935 were the "partial" version.