Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1949. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [122]-128).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-76).

Crowdsourcing has gained favor among many social scientists as a method for collecting data because this method is both time- and resource-efficient. The present study uses a within-subject test-retest design to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of crowdsource samples for developing and field testing measurement instruments. As evidenced by similar patterns of psychometric characteristics across time, strong test-retest reliability, and low failure rates of attention check items, the results of this study provide evidence that Amazon Mechanical Turk might represent a fruitful platform for field testing to support the development of a variety of measures. These findings, in turn, have significant implications for resource efficiency in the fields of educational and organizational measurement.

The purposes of this study were to discover patterns in test scores when both the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory are used simultaneously and to offer career counselors practical ways to interpret the scores when counseling their clients. To do this, the researcher conducted one study using canonical correlation to study the relationships and interrelationships between scores on the MBTI dichotomies and the SII GOTs. A second study utilized MANOVA to increase our understanding of age and gender differences in scores on these two instruments. Another study sought to use case examples of clients who had completed both tests to explain practical ways that career counselors can help their clients understand and apply results of both tests in ways that most benefit the clients’ career decision making. From the results of these studies, it would appear that the most common scores to occur simultaneously on both tests at once are MBTI Intuition, and SII Artistic. One could conclude from this that the personality characteristic of enjoying working in settings that allow for creative endeavor is particularly strong relative to other personality characteristics measured by these tests. We could also conclude that as individuals age, they are more likely to prefer working in settings that allow them to pursue creative endeavors. Another conclusion supported by this data indicates that men are more comfortable with career fields that are unstable and entrepreneurial than women throughout the lifespan.

The present study continues the long line of research addressing Person-Environment fit started by Frank Parsons a century ago and the construct of career satisfaction. Previous research emphasized Holland themes and specific occupational scales, with this study being the first to evaluate the higher order of personal style relating to job satisfaction. This study examined the capacity of the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory in predicting job satisfaction across 8 individual samples comprising 4,938 working adults. Sequential discriminant function analyses demonstrated that sets of hypothesized PSSs significantly distinguished between satisfied and dissatisfied workers beyond the six Holland themes in all 8 occupational samples. This research provided validation and support for the newly added Team Orientation PSS. It further provided support for demographic variables related to job satisfaction, including ethnicity, gender, age, and the reason for testing.

The purpose of this study was to develop and field test an audiovisual interest inventory suitable for use in group testing situations where known or suspected reading disabilities are extant in testees. The Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory was selected for use as a model in developing the audiovisual development.

A descriptive case study examined the gender differences concerning computer technology (IT) by a convenience sample (N = 180, 76%) of 11 th and 12 th graders at an elite public high school, recently named the "second best high school in America" (Newsweek, 2000), in suburban Northern Virginia. The purpose of the study was to examine the apparent discrepancy in male and female differences in computer use, interests, and attitudes. The research design included a student questionnaire combining the Computer Attitude Rating Scale (CARS, Heinssen, Glass, & Knight, 1987) and the Attitudes toward Computer Technology (ACT, Delcourt & Kinzie, 1993) with demographic and academic data (GPA, PSAT, and SAT I), and the Strong Interest Inventory (Strong, 1994). Chi-square tests of association for categorical data and t tests for independence of means for metric data were used to analyze the data, which resulted in several statistically significant relationships (p = < .05) and meaningful effect sizes (> .70). The results were higher mean scores for the Strong Realistic General Occupational Theme (males) and Artistic Theme (females); the Athletic and Mechanical Basic Interest Scales (males) and Music/Drama, Art, Culinary Arts, and Social Service Scales (females), and Risk-Taking Personal Style Scales (males) and Working Style with People (females). Females also had higher GPAs, levels of computer anxiety, resistance to technology, and avoidance of careers and study in computer fields. Females chose Pre-Medicine majors to help others and males chose Computer Science majors to gain financial rewards. The implications for practice and research included: female technology internships, 9th grade mechanical and technical training, computer anxiety group counseling, cooperative learning and hands on instruction, female-friendly computer and computer science classes, equal access to computers at all grade levels, student-parent information programs concerning the many opportunities and high paying jobs available in computer technology, female orientated computer games, and more non-linear computer programs and activities that encourage females to "have fun" with computers and not view them as machines. A longitudinal study of the current sample and research at other grade levels and locations were recommended. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation existed between the selection of recreational nonfiction books from a school library media center by elementary school students in grades four through six and the measured interest, as generated by the Student Interest Inventory, of the students. Data for this study was collected during the period September, 1982 and April, 1983 at Sunnyside Elementary School, North Clackamas School District Number 12, Clackamas, Oregon. The raw data for the measured interest and recreational nonfiction books checked out were arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification tens. By using the Pearson product-moment correlation formula a significant coefficient was found and it was concluded that a correlation did exist between measured interest and nonfiction recreational books actually checked out of the library media center.

The problem of this study is the identification of differences in reading interests and preferences of Indian, Black, and white adolescents of both sexes and from different high school grade levels as they are related to (a) educational background of the parents, (b) availability of reading materials, (c) community size, and (d) the extent to which these preferences are represented in the standard selection aids for secondary school reading materials. A reading interest inventory was administered in the fall term, 1972, through English classes in twenty integrated schools in Oklahoma, representing three levels of population concentration. Community resources in reading materials available through school libraries, public libraries, and bookstores were evaluated. The reading inventories of 3,581 students were chosen to be evaluated to determine if there were significant differences at the .05 level. Earlier studies have indicated that sex and age are major factors in determining what teenagers read about and that adolescents' reading interests tended to be unique, personal, and very unpredictable.- Few studies have been reported that involved ethnic origin or family levels of education.

This study examined how vocational interests, vocational personal styles and work values impact on major satisfaction and specialization choice of 256 students in Master of Social Work programs from several regions of the United States. Participants completed the General Occupational Themes (GOTs) and the Personal Style Scales (PSSs) of the Strong Interest Inventory (SII; Donnay et al., 2005), the Values Scale (VS; Super & Nevill, 1989), and the modified Academic Major Satisfaction Scale (AMSS; Nauta, 2007). A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine factors predicting major satisfaction, and a series of discriminant function analyses were conducted to investigate factors involved in distinguishing the three specialization groups (clinical social work-health/mental health/special population; clinical social work-children/youth/family; and non-profit organization administration/management, policy, community development). The results supported the importance of person-environment fit (P-E fit) in the membership of the MSW programs, the MSW students’ major satisfaction, and their specialization choices. The results also showed the validity and the utility of the GOTs, the PSSs, and the VS. Beyond three-letter Holland codes, further utilization of the GOTs and integration of the PSSs and the VS seem to be essential. Significant roles of work values of the VS were also noted. Implications for future research and career counseling are discussed. Recommendations for administrators of MSW programs are offered to more effectively recruit students, support their process of selecting a specialization, train them during the program, and provide additional training to professional social workers.