Web‐based Multisource Reference Checking: An investigation of psychometric integrity and applied benefits. (7th February 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hedricks, Cynthia A.; Robie, Chet; Oswald, Frederick L.
• Is Part Of: International journal of selection and assessment. Volume 21:Number 1(2013:Mar.)
• Page Start: 99
• Page End: 110
• Publication Date: 2013-02-07
• Subjects: Employee selection -- Periodicals; Personality and occupation -- Periodicals; Employment interviewing -- Periodicals; Prediction of occupational success -- Periodicals; Employees -- Rating of -- Periodicals; 658.3112
• DOI: 10.1111/ijsa.12020
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0965-075X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>Reference checking is a near‐universal practice within personnel selection systems, and legal pressures to gather job‐relevant and structured feedback from references is mounting. Despite this state of affairs, reference checking is a woefully under‐researched method for obtaining psychometrically sound and behaviorally informative data that predict task, team, and leadership behavior at work. From studies of job candidates in applied settings, this article reports on the reliability, validity, and compliance of multisource reference feedback gathered using a web‐based methodology. Acceptable levels of internal consistency, inter‐rater reliability, and test–retest reliability of the reference‐checking instrument were realized. Results of survival analyses found support for prediction of involuntary, but not voluntary turnover. No practically significant differences were found in overall mean scores across demographic subgroups. Finally, the web‐based reference‐checking system evinced high degrees of efficiencies across a range of metrics (e.g., reference response time, reference response rate, candidate response time).</p> </abstract>