Dunbar, S.B. and M.R. Novick. (1988). On Predicting Success in Training for Men and Women: Examples From Marine Corps
Clerical Specialties. Journal of Applied Psychology 73 3,
Dunbar and Novick present a discussion on the different ways that behaviors of men and women are predicted in occupational studies done by the United States Marine Corps. Specifically, the research was concerned with the way that clerical specialities were identified, and the resulting implementation of the job given to Marine cadets.
Data for the study came from the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, and the authors applied standard statistical correlatives in their interpretation. The results of the study suggest that there are far more alternative career paths that should be opened to women in the Marine Corps than are currently available. Moreover, Dunbar and Novick suggest that the ASVAB is not as useful as a predictor in clerical occupations as previously believed.
The design and method of the study was sufficiently narrow to prove the hypothesis of the researcher, and the implications, if utilized, could well change the way the military uses stock tests to place its job applicants. There are, of course, further questions that need to be answered by this research, and additional studies into larger population groups, with a breakdown of prior educational levels and previous occupational experiences, would have been helpful.
Conner, M.T., et.al. (1988). Sweet T
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