The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the kinds of terminology used in
writing job descriptions for library assistants who provide information services affected the
job evaluation rating for the jobs described. The study provided background information
on the importance of the problem, pay equity and job evaluation systems, the nature and
purpose of contacts in information and reference services, the changing roles of
information providers and the problem of terminology in writing job descriptions.
To examine whether the terminology in job descriptions made a difference in evaluation,
three experienced job evaluators were asked to rate nine job descriptions representing
three levels of jobs and three different terminologies: library, computer and generic. The
respondents' ratings, five sets of nine ratings each, were analyzed by comparing the
individual job evaluation plans, the respondents' numerical ratings and rationales. The
findings revealed the similarities and differences in definitions used in each of the plans, the
differences in ratings within and among plans and the extent to which the terminology
used in the job descriptions could be attributed to differences in ratings. Some
inconsistencies in ratings occurred. In most cases, the job description using library
terminology was rated higher than its computer or generic counterparts but in two cases it
was not. Of the three versions of terminology, the generic version led to the least
favourable ratings. Considering the complexity of the responsibility o f contacts present to
some degree in all three levels of jobs, some of the jobs may have been undervalued.
Recommendations were made for action and for further study. / Arts, Faculty of / Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/7776 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Friesen, Margaret |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 5149731 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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