Human Resource Management By Dr. Debashish Sengupta

Reliability & Validity in Selection 7 CHAPTER Human Resource Management

Key Terms Concurrent Validity Content Validity Criterion Validity Face Validity Internal Consistency Interpreting Point Biserial Correlation Coefficient (rpbi) Values Inter-rater Reliability Parallel/test Reliability Point Biserial Rehearsal-effect Test-retest Reliability Validity Human Resource Management

Kinds of Errors in Selection Statistically speaking the error can either be systematic or random in nature; where systematic error shall mean those caused by faults in the system or the process whereas random errors would be more related to the usage of the selection tools. However as we just observed, in selection the two main types of errors could be ‘selection errors’ and ‘omission error’. Human Resource Management

Selection Errors Selection errors are those resulting from hiring a ‘wrong person’. In such cases success is predicted and failure results. Omission Errors Omission errors are those resulting from letting a right person’ go and not hiring him/her. The costs of such errors shall primarily be computed on lost opportunity. Other Errors Besides attrition and non-availability of skilled human resource, the problem of wrong hires confronts most of the organizations. Wrong hires always mean a wasted cost to the company. Human Resource Management

Reliability Reliability in selection tools is a precursor to validity. If a test is not reliable, it cannot have validity as well. No two tests are similar. Differences in results may occur due to either candidate specific factors or due to test- specific factors. Candidate specific may include fatigue, monotony, focus, attention-span etc. Human Resource Management

Types of Reliability a) Test-retest Reliability: Test-Retest reliability refers to the degree of consistency in scores when a test is administered several times. It is generally represented by coefficient of stability. Limitation of Test-retest Reliability Shorter the time-duration between two tests, higher is the correlation coefficient and longer is the duration between two tests, lower is coefficient value. Human Resource Management

b) Inter-rater Reliability: Different raters administering and examining the same test must not produce inconsistent results. The consistency among raters in their observations or evaluation of a test represents inter-rater reliability. c) Parallel-test Reliability: Suppose 100 questions are made that address the same construct. Then these questions are randomly divided to form two tests. Both these tests are administered on the same candidates. d) Internal Consistency: Internal consistency or coefficient alpha (á) measure the consistency of results across various items in a test. Human Resource Management

Validity Validity is referred as the consistency between the score of a selection test and the quality that it is expected to measure. In other words, validity of selection test indicates that how far inferences made from a test are correct. High validity shall mean that the test measured what it intended to do in the first place. Human Resource Management

Kinds of Validity 1. Content Validity: Content validity measures the degree to which a selection test is a representative of the domain that it intends to cover. A selection test is said to have content validity if it covers what it originally set out to test. a) Representative Validity: Representation or translation validity is the extent to which an abstract theoretical construct can be converted into a specific practical selection test. b) Face Validity: If a test appears valid, then it is known as face validity. There is no mathematical way to prove face validity Common sense is used to test face validity, Human Resource Management

2. Criterion Validity: Criterion Validity is the 2. Criterion Validity: Criterion Validity is the correlation between the test and criterion variable(s) that have been taken as representative of the construct. Criterion Validity of test will be determined based upon its ability to predict the behavior of a candidate in a specified situation. A criterion variable could be job performance or decision making etc. Human Resource Management

Validity of Selection Test Human Resource Management

a) Concurrent Validity: If current employees are used to measure the criterion validity, then it is called concurrent validity. In this case the test data and criterion data are collected at the same time. b) Predictive Validity: Predictive validity is measured by administering the test on actual candidates (applicants). Their test data is collected. They are hired irrespective of their performance in the test. Later on their job performance data is collected, which then can be used to establish validity. Predictive validity can be used to perfect a test. Human Resource Management

3. Construct Validity: A construct is a theory that 3. Construct Validity: A construct is a theory that is being assessed through a test for instance emotional intelligence. A test is said to have construct validity if it can accurately measure the extent to which the design of a construct (test developed from the theory/construct) measures what theory intends to do. Human Resource Management

a) Convergent / Discriminant (Divergent) Validity When the measures of a construct that are expected to correlate, do so, then it is said to have convergent validity, and when the constructs that are not expected to correlate, do not, then it is said to have discriminant validity. They together establish construct validity. In very simple words, convergent validity shows that whether a test measures what it should while discriminant validity shows that whether it does not measure what it should not. Human Resource Management

Relationship Between Reliability & Validity a) If a test is not reliable, it cannot be valid b) For a test to valid, it should be reliable c) Every reliable test may not be valid. In short, reliability is eligibility but not a guarantee of validity. Validity Coefficient: Validity Coefficient is essentially the coefficient of correlation between a test and a criterion of effectiveness on the job. It compares a candidate’s success in a test and success in the job. Human Resource Management

Interpreting Validity Coefficients Selection systems that make use of more than one selection tool have comparability higher validity. Hiring is a very important function and testing validity of selection tools can be a very complex and critical step. Validity coefficient values above 0.35 are thought to be good. Validity coefficient values between 0.21 and 0.35 are likely to be useful. However for hiring tools, validity coefficient values below 0.21 may not be useful. Human Resource Management