[IPAC-List] selection validation question

[Megan Paul]

A few points of clarification...

I have every reason to believe that this measure will *not* result in 
adverse impact, but I support following the Uniform Guidelines as a 
matter of good practice. I'm just not sure I understand / agree with the 
interpretation I'm being given.

I definitely understand the importance of an updated job analysis, and 
it is likely that we will update the previous one ourselves (the biggest 
issue is convincing the agency to give us SME time). What I mostly 
question is the insistence on all the validity generalization work as a 
precursor to the criterion-related validation, and I definitely don't 
see where it's "required" by the Guidelines.

The following paragraph from the UG applies to this particular test, so 
content validity isn't going to be sufficient:
"A selection procedure based upon inferences about mental processes 
cannot be supported solely or primarily on the basis of content 
validity. Thus, a content strategy is not appropriate for demonstrating 
the validity of selection procedures which purport to measure traits or 
constructs, such as intelligence, aptitude, personality, commonsense, 
judgment, leadership, and spatial ability."

The test would be used in conjunction with several other selection tools 
that measure many other KSAs, so it does not need to "do it all."

-- 
Megan E. Paul, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Center on Children, Families, and the Law
206 S. 13th Street, Suite 1000
Lincoln, NE 68588-0227

(402) 472-9812 Office
(402) 472-8412 Fax