Assessing Professional Competence by Using Occupational Judgment Tests Derived From Job Analysis Questionnaires
Abstract
Based on the historical success of job analysis questionnaires and the related expectation that respondents with technical expertise are required to obtain valid job analysis ratings data, we hypothesized that these questionnaires can be converted into judgment tests to measure individual differences in occupational expertise. As an initial test of this hypothesis, Occupational Judgment Tests (OJTs) were derived from job analysis questionnaires, and job incumbents were asked to objectively rate the frequency of job tasks and the importance of employee attributes to occupational performance. The OJTs required 3 minutes to complete, were administered to 302 job incumbents from four diverse occupations, and were scored using consensually derived standards and through factor analysis. As hypothesized, OJT consensus-based scores were valid against measures of incumbent job knowledge (p = .34 to .35), cognitive aptitude (p = .17 to .25), and career attitudes (p = .19). OJT factor scores were valid against career attitudes (p = .21 to .29). This method provides broadly sensitive and inexpensive measures of job competence that could expand the predictor and criterion space in personnel selection studies for many occupations.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA494988
Entities
People
- Dawn Gray
- Joseph Psotka
- Peter Legree
- Tiffany M. Bludau
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences