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From: Dr Elizabeth Allworth
Date: 99/09/16
Time: 10:08:35
Remote Name: 146.141.14.215
Professor Beryl Hesketh of Sydney University forwarded your letter of 19 July 1999 onto me. I apologise for the delay in getting back to you. I have attached some of the overheads for a talk that I gave just yesterday on biodata that may be of interest to you (I was kind of waiting on this asI thought it may also be around what you are asking for) . This also includes some references. I have excluded some of the slides on our research findings as these need a bit more explanation. There are references, however, to our research that will give the detail people need.
The approach that Beryl and I have been taking to biodata is a construct-oriented approach by which homogeneous biodata scales are developed to measure job-related constructs of interest. This varies from the more commonly applied empirical scaling methods. We have been focusing particularly on biodata measuring the capacity to cope with change but the method is applicable to a broad range of constructs.
Despite many of the benefits of biodata in terms of its behavioural basis, its predictive validity etc., it is rarely used in selection. I think, however, with a construct-oriented approach it should be possible to develop generalisable scales that can be put together like a broad-based personality questionnaire. The approach taken in the US has been to develop item banks by which individual items with known validity with a criterion are combined to assess the attributes relevant to the particular job.
As for pertinent references, these are provided at the end of the attached file. Of particular interest to anyone who really wants to get into the area is the biodata handbook by Stokes, Mumford & Owens (1994) (see references).
Please let me know if you would like some more information. I think what you are doing there is very interesting and I will have a look at your web-site. We have quite an assessment industry going here in Australia, much of which is conducted outside of the psychology profession. There is a strong need for us too to educate industry about professional standards and ethics. You seem to be well ahead of us in that regard.
Kind regards,
Elizabeth Allworth
Dr Elizabeth Allworth Allworth Juniper, Psychologists Suite 3, Level 6, 99 Elizabeth St SYDNEY NSW 2000 AUSTRALIA Ph: 61-2-9223 2774 Fax: 61-2-9223 2894 Email: ajpsych@zip.com.au