[IPAC-List] selection validation question

[Jim Kuthy]

Dear Paul:

I suggest you look at Section 14B3 of the federal Uniform Guidelines on
Employee Selection Procedures concerning the need for a job analysis. It
states "certain criteria may be used without a full job analysis if the
user can show the importance of the criteria to the particular
employment context. These criteria include but are not limited to
production rate, error rate, tardiness, absenteeism, and length of
service. A standardized rating of overall work performance may be used
where a study of the job shows that it is an appropriate criterion."
Thus, if you employ some types of commonly-used criteria a full job
analysis would not be required.

You might also look to Section 7B relating to transporting
criteria-related validity from other locations. 

(Of course it is better to perform a job analysis; but it is not always
required for criteria-related studies).  

Jim Kuthy, Ph.D. 
Principal Consultant
Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.
193 Blue Ravine Road, Suite 270
Folsom, CA 95630
916-294-4250

-----Original Message-----
From: Megan Paul [mailto:mpaul2 at unlserve.unl.edu] 
Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2009 12:04 PM
To: IPAC-List at ipacweb.org
Subject: [IPAC-List] selection validation question

I am currently considering the use of a commercially available selection

tool (vendor and tool shall rename nameless). An in-house 
criterion-related validation study was done on the test many years ago, 
but the test was never implemented. The job has since changed enough 
that I would not feel comfortable implementing the test on the basis of 
the old results.

When I recently spoke with the one of the company's consultants and said

that I wanted to do another criterion-related validity study, this time 
using their assistance with analyses, I was told that the research 
process needed to start with a job analysis and validity generalization 
research (both done by said company and requiring a significant amount 
of time on their part and my client's). The criterion-related validation

is apparently considered a "follow-up" to all the other work. When I 
said I only wanted to do the criterion-related validation portion (a 
simple and quick concurrent validation), she told me that the company 
has to do the job analysis and validity generalization first, because 
"that's what the Uniform Guidelines require."

There's a lot I could say here, but I will just start with a question. 
Reactions??

-- 
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