Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Five Interest Inventories

Authors: Savickas M.L.¹; Taber B.J.²; Spokane A.R.³

Source: Journal of Vocational Behavior, Volume 61, Number 1, August 2002 , pp. 139-184(46)

Publisher: Academic Press

Abstract:

This study investigated whether interest inventories that purport to measure the same constructs actually yield scores that correspond. The study examined the empirical relation of scores for similarly and same-named scales on five widely used interest inventories: the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey, the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey–Form DD, the Self-Directed Search, the Strong Interest Inventory–Skills Confidence Edition, and the Revised Unisex Edition of the ACT Interest Inventory. Comparisons were made among scores for (a) vocational interests measured by homogeneous, rationally based scales; (b) occupational interests measured by heterogeneous, criterion-based scales; and (c) self-efficacy for RIASEC tasks. The participants consisted of 80 women and 38 men employed as career counseling practitioners and professors. Results from analyses of multitrait–multimethod matrices indicated that similarly and same-named scales correlated moderately and that, with few exceptions, these matched scales demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity. These conclusions were interpreted by distinguishing between the linguistic explication and operational definition of constructs in theories of vocational and occupational interests. The implications of these interpretations were considered for both the science of vocational psychology and the practice of career counseling. Future research should investigate both the profile validity and the interpretive validity of interest inventories that yield scale scores derived from different scaling strategies. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

Language: English

Document Type: Review article

Affiliations: 1: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine 2: Kent State University 3: Lehigh University

Publication date: 2002-08-01

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Business ,  Psychology
• By this author: Savickas M.L. ;  Taber B.J. ;  Spokane A.R.

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