Best Practice Recommendations for Situational Judgment Tests. (10th September 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pollard, Stefanie; Cooper-Thomas, Helena D.
• Is Part Of: Australasian journal of organisational psychology. Volume 8(2015)
• Publication Date: 2015-09-10
• Subjects: situational judgment test, -- SJT, -- selection, -- item stem, -- validity; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; Social psychology -- Periodicals; Psychology, Industrial -- Periodicals; 158.7
• DOI: 10.1017/orp.2015.6
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2054-2232

Abstract

Abstract : Situational judgement tests (SJTs) are increasingly popular as part of selection procedures because of their strong psychometric properties. SJTs present test takers with job-related situations and a series of potential responses. The aim of this review article is to provide evidence-based recommendations for practitioners who are considering implementing SJTs for their clients, as well as offering an analysis of some key issues for academics. This research provides a review of the literature on SJTs to answer three questions: (1) What is the difference between framing questions either as what should you do versus what would you do? (2) What is the difference between multimedia-based and text-based SJTs? (3) What is the best process for SJT creation? Following this, recommendations are provided as follows: That responses are optimally framed in terms of what a respondent thinks s/he should do, not what s/he would do; that multimedia-based SJTs are used in preference to text-based SJTs; and a 'best practice' process for creating an SJT is outlined. Finally, the review includes a discussion of implications for creating tests that are inclusive of different ethnic groups, as well as ethical issues relating to the use of SJTs in selection.