Work analysis is fundamental to designing effective human resource systems. The current investigation extends previous research by identifying the differential effects of common design decisions, purposes, and organizational contexts on the data generated by work analyses. The effects of 19 distinct factors that span choices of descriptor, collection method, rating scale, and data source, as well as project purpose and organizational features, are explored. Meta-analytic results cumulated from 205 articles indicate that many of these variables hold significant consequences for work analysis data. Factors pertaining to descriptor choice, collection method, rating scale, and the purpose for conducting the work analysis each showed strong associations with work analysis data. The source of the work analysis information and organizational context in which it was conducted displayed fewer relationships. Findings can be used to inform choices work analysts make about methodology and postcollection evaluations of work analysis information.
As discussed in Guzzo, Fink, King, Tonidandel, and Landis's (2015) focal article, big data is more than a passing trend in business analytics. The plethora of information available presents a host of interesting challenges and opportunities for industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology. When utilizing big data sources to make organizational decisions, our field has a considerable amount to offer in the form of advice on how big data metrics are derived and used and on the potential threats to validity that their use presents. We’ve all heard the axiom, “garbage in, garbage out,” and that applies regardless of whether the scale is a small wastebasket or a dump truck.
Despite pervasive evidence that general mental ability and personality are unrelated, we investigated whether general mental ability may affect the response process associated with personality measurement. Study 1 examined a large sample of job applicant responses to four personality scales for differential functioning across groups of differing general mental ability. While results indicated that personality items differentially function across highly disparate general mental ability groups, there was little evidence of differential functioning across groups with similar levels of general mental ability. Study 2 replicated these findings in a different sample, using a different measure of general mental ability. We posit that observed differences in the psychometric properties of these personality scales are likely due to the information processing capabilities of the respondents. Additionally, we describe how differential functioning analyses can be used during scale development as a method of identifying items that are not appropriate for all intended respondents. In so doing, we demonstrate procedures for examining other construct-measurement interactions in which respondents’ standings on a specific construct could influence their interpretation of and response to items assessing other constructs.
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