Sidney H. Newman

FURTHER VALIDATION OF METHODS FOR EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF PHYSICIANS

&Harris, 1957). The experimental Efficiency Report contains four kinds of performance evaluation methods: 50 Forced-Choice tetrads (FC), a 10-point scale for rating Job Proficiency (JP), eight 10-point scales for rating various Personal Qualifications (PQ), and a 22-item Check List (CL). When the original and cross-validation samples of physicians were combined in the previous study, validity coefficients for the various evaluation methods ranged from .54 to .62 and produced a multiple correlation of .68 against a rating criterion, the average rating given by work associates in evaluating a physician’s Work Performance. Optimum weights for combining the evaluation methods in the Report were determined by the Wherry-Doolittle method (Garrett, 1947). The FC and JP sections were selected as predictors with about equal weights, and the resulting multiple was significantly larger than the highest single validity. The present study, undertaken as a part of the Officer Selection and Evaluation Program (Newman, 1951), is a further validation of

Analysis of Criteria for the Validation of Selection Measures at the United States Coast Guard Academy

SELECTION criteria have received wide attention [for example, Bechtold (i), Thorndike (7)]. Two of the important problems under continuous consideration have been (a) the analysis of criteria for purposes of identification and measurement, and (b) the discovery and utilization of personality and adjustment criteria in training or educational situations. Studies concerning these problems have been conducted at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The psychological program at the Coast Guard Academy has been in operation since 1942 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Investigations on the selection of Regular Cadets (potential career officers) have utilized both academic and personality criteria. From the beginning of the program, studies have indicated that selection

The Analysis and Prediction of a Practical Examination in Dentistry

THIS paper reports the relationship between a practical examination and other methods used in the selection of dentists where the practical examination is viewed as a criterion of professional performance. Since 1950, a number of reports concerned with the prediction of success in dental school, such as those by Weiss (10) and Peterson (6), have appeared in the literature, as well as an analysis of the critical requirements in dentistry (9). To the authors’ knowledge, however, the present study is the first report on

Forced Choice Tetrads—Effect of Scoring Procedure and Key Length On Validity and Reliability

method than from other methods of performance evaluation (5) (6) (7). These reports led to a decision by the authors to study the validity of the Army forced choice tetrads when used with professional personnel employed in a variety of health specialties within the Public Health Service. Major findings of the study will be reported at a later time; as part of the study, however, information was obtained on the following methodological problems. Does the use of both positively and negatively weighted alternatives in scoring forced choice tetrads significantly increase validity and reliability over that obtained by the use of positive weights only? In this paper, positively weighted alternatives are those

DO OBJECTIVE PROFESSIONAL EXAMINATIONS INVOLVE REASONING

An objective professional examination in medicine and three relatively “pure” tests of reasoning were administered to a key development group of 88 medical interns and a cross-validation group of 83 interns. Results suggest that professional examination items involving reasoning can be identified by a physician or by item-analysis against reasoning tests. Judgmentally identified items correlated .35 to .49 with general and deductive reasoning; items identified by item-analysis correlated on cross-validation, .37 to .46 with these reasoning factors. (Spearman-Brown estimates were in the .50-.70 range.)