Development and validation of minicourses in the telecommunication industry

Article Abstract:

Beginning in the early 1970s, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) and the associated Bell companies have used minicourses for selecting personnel in a variety of jobs involving new technologies. The minicourse approach uses material representative of training content to assess the candidate's ability to acquire knowledge relevant to full-scale training and the job. A major advantage of the minicourse approach is the ability to implement a selection procedure concurrent with the introduction of a new training program. Although minicourses are initially validated using a content-oriented strategy, the AT&T model has included criterion-related validation where possible. The experience of AT&T with seven minicourses is discussed, and validation for training criteria and job performances are reported. Minicourses are a specific example of the general class of predictors known as trainability tests. The results of the meta-analysis indicate that validities for trainability tests are comparable with validities found for ability tests and work sample tests by Hunter and Hunter (1984). (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Human resource management, Employee selection, Employee training, Management training, American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

---

The role of judgment calls in meta-analysis

Article Abstract:

The use of meta-analysis in literature reviews is increasing at a geometric rate, even though many researchers are still not familiar with the technique. Although most of the criticism of meta-analysis has focused on the formulas used, we believe there should be concern with the many judgment calls that must be made and how they affect the results of a meta-analysis. In recent years four topics have each been independently meta-analyzed twice. These four pairs are reexamined, and the differences in results between each of the pairs are diagnosed as resulting from judgment calls. Future users of meta-analysis are advised to be explicit about the judgments they make, and a summary of judgment calls is offered as a guide for reporting them. In addition to reporting judgment calls, their effects on the estimates of the population mean effect size and standard deviation should be tested. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Judgment, Judgment (Psychology)

---

Appropriate critical percentages for the Schmidt and Hunter meta-analysis procedure: comparative evaluation of type 1 error rate and power

Article Abstract:

Recent investigations have shown that the Schmidt and Hunter 75% meta-analysis procedures (S&H - 75%) does not have adequate control of the Type 1 error rate. This lack of control has caused two problems: First, the S&H - 75% displays an erratic relationship between the likelihood to detect moderators and the number of studies included in the meta-analysis. Second, it has precluded meaningful power comparisons of the S&H - 75% procedure with alternate procedures. In the present study we first determine appropriate critical percentages for the Schmidt and Hunter procedure that maintain a fixed Type 1 error rate. Then we compare this procedure, using the appropriate percentages, with an alternative statistic, U. When the correct percentages are used, the Schmidt and Hunter procedure shows equivalent power to the U statistic. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Patents, licencing, and market structure in the chemical industry. Domestic patents and developing countries: arguments for their study and data from Brazil (1980-1995)
• Abstracts: Technological regimes and innovation in services: the case of the Italian banking industry. Technology use and plant closure
• Abstracts: Development and use of English versions of Japanese PM leadership in electronics plants. International collaboration in organizational behavior research
• Abstracts: Delphi analysis of national specificities in selected innovative areas in Germany and France. Personal attitudes in the assessment of the future of science and technology: A factor analysis approach
• Abstracts: Standardization and the democratic design of information and communication technology. Re-examining intellectual property rights in the context of standardization, innovation and the public sphere

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.