Tests and assessment tools

Title

Role

Brief description

Dolenz, B. (1993). The Career Beliefs Inventory: A Review and Critique. (Link)

Using the Career Beliefs Inventory, to profile a client’s beliefs. (Link)

The career beliefs inventory was a model developed by John Krumboltz in 1996. The test is via a 96-item survey for identifying beliefs as they pertain to a particular career path. At the time of this paper, results for respondents could be presented along with those from a database of 7.500 members of the US population who had also completed the test. This paper evaluates the test and draws attention to its strengths, though criticises the reliability and validity.

Osipow, S. H., & Winer, J. L. (1996). The Use of the Career Decision Scale in Career Assessment. Journal of Career Assessment, 4(2), 117-130. (Link) (Paid)

Using the Career Decision Scale to measure and understand career indecision (Link)

The career decision scale is a measure of career indecision and the factors that contribute to it. This paper provides a review of its formation in the mid 1970s and subsequent application. The implications of using the instrument with different groups is described.

Armstrong, D. (1998). Careers guidance, psychometric testing and unemployment amongst young people: an empirical analysis for Northern Ireland. Applied Economics, 30(9), 1203-1217. (Link)(Paid)

Psychometric tests, to assess personality factors as indicators of potential career support needs

This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the effect of testing in Northern Ireland on young people's subsequent experiences of unemployment and long-term unemployment between the ages of 16 and 18. The results suggest that although testing is not having an adverse impact, it is not having a statistically significant positive effect. This may be attributable to some aspects of test administration in Northern Ireland which, in many cases, seems to fall short of recommended guidelines.

Steele, C. (2007), Measuring Career Anchors and Investigating the Role of Career Anchor Congruence. PhD thesis at University of Coventry and University of Worcester (Link)

Conducting a detailed validation of a and application of career models to explore relationships between roles and career anchors of employees 

This thesis provides an example of a detailed and multi-faceted quantitative research study, with a series of analyses that demonstrate practices involved in evaluating, testing, building and applying career models. It describes an exploration of the Career Orientation Inventory (Igbaria and Baroudi, 1993) through a survey of n=658 employees  from 27 organisations in the UK. The researcher showed, through factor analysis, that the samples’ responses validated Schein’s eight career anchor model and were also consistent with Mantech’s (1983) Work Values Questionnaire (WVQ). Further analysis showed career anchors to be changing based on work experiences. And another analysis showed gender differences. An adapted anchors model was found and applied to different parts of a police force to draw conclusions about relationships between jobs and anchors.

Gati, I., & Levin, N. (2012). The Stability and Structure of Career Decision-Making Profiles: A 1-Year Follow-Up. Journal of Career Assessment, 20(4), 390-403. (Link)(Paid)

Using the Career Decision Making profile questionnaire, to explore a client’s career decision making styles 

The Career Decision-Making Profile (CDMP) questionnaire is a multidimensional measure of the way individuals make career decisions, developed as an alternative to the single, most-dominant trait approach. The paper reports testing the instrument at different time lags to show its stability. This study reviews past validation of the instrument and describes a case study on how it can be used to help a client.

Savickas, M. L., & Porfeli, E. J. (2012). Career adapt-abilities scale: Construction, reliability, and measurement equivalence across 13 countries. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(3), 661–673 (Link)(Paid)

Measuring Career Adaptabilities, to assess abilities for handling challenges

Researchers from 13 countries collaborated over several years in constructing a psychometric scale to measure career adaptability. Based on four pilot tests, a research version of the proposed scale consisting of 55 items was field tested in 13 countries. four scales measure concern, control, curiosity, and confidence as psychosocial resources for managing occupational transitions, developmental tasks, and work traumas.  This paper confirmed the reliability of the test.

Duffy, R. D., Autin, K. L., Allan, B. A., & Douglass, R. P. (2015). Assessing work as a calling: An evaluation of instruments and practice recommendations. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(3), 351–366 (Link)

Evaluating different instruments that measure “Work as a calling” for individuals

This study examined the utility of five popular assessments of work as a calling. A large and diverse group of working adults completed the Calling Paragraph, Brief Calling Scale (BCS), Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ), Calling Scale (CS), and Multidimensional Calling Measure (MCM) at two time points, along with a face valid measure of having a calling (yes or no) and three work-related outcomes. All measures were found to be reliable. 

Spurk, D., Abele, A. E., & Volmer, J. (2015). The career satisfaction scale in context: A test for measurement invariance across four occupational groups. Journal of Career Assessment, 23(2), 191–209. (Link)

Measuring Career satisfaction and understanding the components

This study analysed the influence of the occupational context on the conceptualization of career satisfaction measured by the career satisfaction scale (CSS) using a large sample of n=729 highly educated professionals. Career success was measured with different constructs: achieved success, overall career goals, goals for advancement, goals for income, and goals for development of new skills, and found to vary by profession. 

Costigan, R., Gurbuz, S., & Sigri, U. (2018). Schein’s career anchors: Testing factorial validity, invariance across countries, and relationship with core self-evaluations. Journal of Career Development, 45(3), 199-214. (Link)

Career Anchors across international settings, to explore clients’ skills and motivations

This study concerns validation of Schein’s career anchors orientation inventory (COI): Survey

data were collected from 469 participants (230 from the United States and 239 from Turkey). The research involved testing the original eight-factor model against an alternative nine-factor model, and testing cross culture/country effects, Results found that the nine factor model has better validity and a moderating effect of culture in some of the outcomes.

Lent, R. W., Ireland, G. W., Penn, L. T., Morris, T. R., & Sappington, R. (2017). Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of vocational behavior, 99, 107-117. (Link)

Measuring Career Self- Management, based on social cognitive career theory.

The paper is a test based on the Social Cognitive Career theory and relates experiential sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations to career exploration and decision-making activities using a survey of n=324 college students. Statistical analysis found five factors that described a students self management: personal mastery, verbal persuasion, vicarious learning, positive emotions and negative emotions. These variables accounted for a large amount of the students’ career expectations. The results are interpreted in terms of social cognitive career theory. Questions are provided in the paper along their importance to the five factors found.

Hirschi, A., Nagy, N., Baumeler, F., Johnston, C. S., & Spurk, D. (2018). Assessing key predictors of career success: Development and validation of the career resources questionnaire. Journal of career assessment, 26(2), 338-358. (Link)

Using a Career Resources Questionnaire, for measuring resources that support career success and gaps.

The paper starts by recognising that the existing literature suggests a vast array of potential predictors of careers success that cannot be economically measured. The researchers therefore integrated theory and analytic research to propose an integrative framework of career resources, including human capital, environmental, motivational, and career management behaviour, that was represented by 13 distinct factors, as indicators of success.This led to creating the “Career Resources Questionnaire”, as a means to test whether guidance clients have the requisite attributes that will aid their success.

Jackson, D., & Tomlinson, M. (2019). Career values and proactive career behaviour among contemporary higher education students. Journal of Education and Work, 32(5), 449-464. (Link)

Evaluating career values, and self management behaviour to identify career development actions (applied in higher education)

Based on the idea that “career values prioritised by individuals determine their career decision-making, career choice, and career outcomes”, the paper describes a survey to measure them and analysis to relate to behaviour. Values can be intrinsic (e.g. interest, learning potential) or extrinsic (e.g. pay, prospects). The research in this paper was carried out on n-413 UK higher education students. Results suggested greater intrinsic values, with students seeking purpose, and making a societal contribution.  Results also contradicted the finding that males are more extrinsically motivated.

Kulcsár, V., Dobrean, A., & Gati, I. (2020). Challenges and difficulties in career decision making: Their causes, and their effects on the process and the decision. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 116, 103346. (Link)

Identifying the components of a career decision making process.

The goal of the present review is to propose a taxonomy for analysing, comparing, and classifying 2 assessments of the career decision-making process in terms of three facets: (i) Antecedents – assessments of the challenges that may emerge prior to or during this process and cause difficulties, (ii) Effects of the challenges and difficulties on the process, namely, the individual’s behavioural responses, and (iii) Effects on the decision, as reflected in individuals' career decision status and their feelings about the process and the outcome.

Furnham, A., MacRae, I. & Tetchner, J. (2021). Measuring work motivation: The facets of the work values questionnaire and work success. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 62, 401–408. (Link)

Using the Work Values Questionnaire to explore work motivation

Over n=750 international working professionals, primarily from the UK, completed a survey which included the Work Value Questionnaire, and measures of self-perceived success. Analysis of results was able to attribute work success to different contributors that lie in work values. Affiliation and Recognition values positively increased work success while security was a negative predictor. This study shows an example of gaining insight into the motivations of a workforce and practitioners might wish to understand which values their clients possess that are positive or negative predictors of success. 

International Youth Foundation (2021) Life Skills Tool . 

Measuring Life Skills in children (Link)

The Life Skills Survey Tool (LiSST) is a youth self-report survey designed to assess and measure changes in life skills, used by the International Youth Foundation to compare children across international settings. As such, it provides a wider context of a child’s development.  The tool measures 49 statements across 4 domains - Positive Mindset, Interpersonal Skills, Higher Order Thinking, and Community Mindset – that align with IYF’s Life Skills Framework.

Dodd, V., Hanson, J., & Hooley, T. (2022). Increasing students’ career readiness through career guidance: measuring the impact with a validated measure. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 50(2), 260–272. (Link)

Measuring Career Readiness amongst secondary school students

This research (1) details the development of a career readiness measure and (2) tests the relationship between career guidance interventions and career readiness among secondary school students over three separate studies. One factor across nine items was found to effectively capture career readiness. Greater participation in career guidance activities was also found to be significantly associated with increased career readiness.

Parola, A., Fusco, L., & Marcionetti, J. (2022). The parental career-related behaviors questionnaire (PCB): Psychometric properties in adolescents and young adults in the Italian context. Current Psychology, 42, 14376 - 14386. (Link)

Testing Parental Behaviours to assess the influence on a childrens’ career development

The measurement instrument in this paper is one of parental/guardian behaviours that influence children’s career decisions. The survey asks children about their parents’ involvement with questions such as “My parents give advice on the choice of careers available”, to help build a profile. The survey, that had been previously only used in Switzerland, is validated in Italy, and further used to explore results. The paper shows that the scale is valid and stable. The survey shows three key factors characterise parental involvement: a) support, b) interference, and c) lack of engagement. 

Title

Role

Brief description

ONET and the Department of Education (2006), Testing and assessment - a guide for workforce development professionals (Link)

Preparing to deploy testing with employees

This report was written for the US workforce development professional, which includes but transcends career counsellors, with the aim to provide a “manual” for applying career tests. Much of the specific content is now dates, but the generic considerations, that include law, ethics, potential applications, the selections of different instruments and interpretation are still valid, particularly in employment settings. 

Myers Briggs Company, Case studies (Link)

Reviewing  case studies of applying a test: Myers Briggs

This resource is a set of case studies provided by the Myers Briggs company to show how it was used in many types of organisation of different sorts. Some of the benefits were more organisational than personal, such as team building and collective motivation. 

Why the Myers Briggs Test is Totally Meaningless, Vox, You Tube (c2016). (LInk)

Recognising limitations of Myers Briggs

This short video gives a short overview of the famous Myers Briggs test, discusses its history and provides a subjective criticism based on inconsistent results for up to 50% of takers who took the test twice, and the observation that people did not fit neatly into the proscribed typologies. The talk provides a provocative set of “challenges” for the test.

Who Are you Really? The Puzzle of Personality, Brian Little, TED Talk (c2017). (Link) 

Considering individuals’ differences and their origins

A renowned psychologist gives a TED talk (c15mins) about the psychology traits and what they each mean. The talk is loosely based around the famous Five Personality Traits. The talk is a reminder of differences and the personality origins of many motivations.