Timeline Instructions
To find out who the respondents’ caregivers were during their first 18 years of life, they fill out a timeline.
Creating a Living Arrangement
The first step is to choose the place where you lived right after you were born. This is usually a house or an apartment, but it might be an institution. Click the arrow to the right of –Place You Lived–. From the drop-down menu select the type of place that is most appropriate.
When you choose a home, four things happen:
- A drop-down list for female caregivers appears at the top of the screen.
- A drop-down list for male caregivers appears at the top of the screen.
- A tabbed folder is created in a window below.
- A picture of a home appears on the tab.
NOTE: When you choose an institution as a place that you lived, a window will appear asking the name of the institution. Type in the name and click OK. You do not have the option to select any caregivers when an institution is selected.
Choosing Your Caregivers
You then choose all the adults who lived with you when you were born. Click the arrow next to –Caregiver–, either Women: or Men:, and then select the appropriate type from the drop-down menu. If you choose, say, Grandfather, the program will ask you for your grandfather’s
name. This is because people often have more than one grandfather or aunt or foster mother. You can use nicknames, formal names, or even made-up names. Type in the name and click the OK button. Repeat these steps for each adult living in this “Home.”
Filling in the Time You Lived with Each Caregiver
Now you use the Crayon Tool to fill in the time you lived with each caregiver. You will see a timeline (a row of rectangles) for each caregiver. Above it and to the right you will see the image of a crayon. Click that image and the cursor will become a crayon. Start from the left side (birth) and click all the time-blocks you need to tell how long you lived with that caregiver. Each rectangle represents 6 months, so the example below shows that this person lived with his birth mother until he was six months old and his grandfather Don until he was six years old.
Correcting Skipped Blocks
If you fill in the time-blocks too quickly, some may be skipped. You can go back to the skipped blocks and color them in separately.
Erasing Time Blocks
If you fill in a time-block by mistake, you can erase it. At the upper right next to the crayon icon is an eraser icon. Click on it and the cursor becomes the eraser tool. Click on a time-block and the green disappears.
Correcting a Caregiver Choice
If you choose the wrong caregiver (for example choosing adoptive father when you mean foster father) click on the eraser button and then click two times on the name of incorrect caregiver. The computer will then ask if you want to delete the caregiver. Choose the Yes button.
Creating New Living Arrangements
For each change in living arrangements you may have had while growing up, you should choose a new home, an institution, or being homeless by selecting a new place you lived. It will appear as a new tab. In the example the respondent has lived in two different arrangements–a home and homeless with adult. He is in the process of choosing a third arrangement, a group home or orphanage.
Erasing a Home Tab
If you choose the wrong place (home or institution or living homeless) by mistake, you may erase the whole tab. Click on the eraser button, then click two times on the wrong Home tab. The program will ask if you want to delete it. Choose the Yes button and the home is erased.
Making a Correction on a Previous Living Arrangement
You may go back to an earlier home by clicking on its tab. You can tell that this respondent has gone back to his first home because the home icon is highlighted and his first caregivers and timeline are displayed. The respondent can now edit the time-blocks or caregivers. This respondent has added Daddy George.
Checking Your Timeline
When you are done, we recommend that you review each Place You Lived and Caregiver to ensure they are correct. Then click on the Done button at the lower right of the window. If there are any time-blocks not filled in, the program will display the message below. Go through your homes (clicking on the tabs) until you find the missing time-blocks.
Finishing the Timeline
If there are no missing time-blocks, you will be asked to confirm your caregivers (the example shows the confirmation for male caregivers).
After you have confirmed both male and female caregivers, the MIDSA program will save your timeline information and take you to the next section.
Remember that:
- First you choose a place where you lived.
- Then you choose the adults who lived with you and took care of you.
- Then you fill in the time-blocks that show the ages you were when you lived with each person.