Ch 8: Measurement

Question 1

What is measurement?

Answer 1

The process of assigning numbers to aspects of a job, people, system etc.

Question 2

Why is measurement important?

Answer 2

-Effective measurement data can give a competitive edge
-Imporperly assessing and measuring candidate characteristics can lead to systematically hiring the wrong ppl, offending and losing good candidates etc.

Question 3

What are the measures relevant to staffing process?

Answer 3

Those that assess:
Job Characteristics
Aspects of the staffing system
Characteristics of Job candidates
Staffing outcomes- performance or turnover

Question 4

The numerical outcomes of measurement are data. These data are

Answer 4

Predictive data: Info used to make projections about outcomes. So what data would you collect to predict turnover?

Criterion data: information about important outcomes of the staffing process.
eg. time to hire

Question 5

Types of measurements

Answer 5

Nominal: Numbers are assigned to discrete labels/catergories- race, gender, college major

Ordinal: attributes ranked in ascending or descending order- eg. best to worst performance

Interval: Zero point is arbitrary but distance between scores has meaning (intelligence or interview scores)

Ratio: distance between scores has meaning and there is a true zero point (slaray and typing speed)

Question 6

What is scoring?

Answer 6

Process of assigning numerical values during measurement

Question 7

What is a raw score?

Answer 7

unadjusted score on a measure

Question 8

Criterion-referenced measures and Norm-referenced measures

Answer 8

Criterion-referenced measures: Measures in which the scores have meaning in and of themselves

Norm-referenced measures: Measures in which scores have meaning only in comparison to the scores of other respondents- so think of ranking systems as a tool to determine advancement

Question 9

Percentile score on Normal curve

Answer 9

raw score that has been converted into an
expression of the percentage of people who score at or below that score.

Question 10

Central Tendency

Answer 10

describes the midpoint, or center, of the data

Question 11

Variability

Answer 11

spread of data around midpoint

Question 12

Variance

Answer 12

math measure of spread based on squared deviations of scores from the mean

Question 13

Standard deviation

Answer 13

Positive square root of the variation

Question 14

Shifting normal applicant curve

Answer 14

if done strategically, sourcing and recruiting can sift out bad applicants

Question 15

Correlation Coefficient

Answer 15

indicates the direction (+/-), and magnitude (strength) of relationship betwee 2 variables

Question 16

What is reliability?

Answer 16

How dependable/ consistent a measure is in assessing a particular characteristic

Question 17

3 things to consider when measuring reliability

Answer 17

Type of easure

Type of reliabiltiy estimate reported

The context in which measure will be used

Question 18

Reasons for differing scores on Test or assessment

Answer 18

Temporary physical/ psychological state
Envrionmental factors
Different evaluators

Question 19

Types of errors

Answer 19

Random: not due to any consistent cause
systematic: error due to consistent and predictable factors

Deficiency error: errors due to failing to measure important aspects of attribute

Contamination: error due to scores being affected by unrelated factors

Question 20

Types of Reliability

Answer 20

Test-retest: reflects the repeatability of scores over
time and the stability of the underlying
construct being measured

alternate or parallel form reliability: indicates how consistent scores are likely to be if a person completes two or more forms of the same measure

internal consistency reliability: indicates the extent to which items on a given measure assess the same
construct.

Inter-rater reliability
indicates how consistent scores are
likely to be if the responses are scored
by two or more raters using the same
item, scale, or instrument

Question 21

Standard of error of Measurement

Answer 21

Expected margin of error in an individual score.

The lower the SEM, the more accurate the measurements

Question 22

Validity?

Answer 22

How well a measure assesses a given construct and degree to wich you can make specific conclusions or predictions based on observed scores.