AOM Conference Paper on Bias in Test Publisher Manuals (McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel, 2005)

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Reference Title: Do Employment Test Publisher Manuals Provide Accurate Information on Test Validity? (McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel, 2005)
Author: McDaniel, M.A., Rothstein, H., & Whetzel, D.L.
Publication Type: AOM Conference Paper
Publication Date: 2005
Course Level: Advanced
Credits: 2
Price: $20.00
About This Course: This article describes and provides an application of a new, more informative and reliable alternative to the file drawer analysis for discerning publication bias in cited research literature.
  1. Overview of this CE Home-Study Program
  2. Information About the Course
    1. Educational Objectives
    2. Target Audience
    3. Schedule
    4. Cost and Refund/Cancellation Policy
    5. Author Credentials
    6. Number of CE Credits Offered
    7. Location and Format
    8. Detailed Description of Program Material
  3. Conflict of Interest Statement

1. Overview of this CE program (top)

This home study course entails the independent study of the journal article "Do Employment Test Publisher Manuals Provide Accurate Information on Test Validity?" (McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel, 2005), followed by the completion of a multiple-choice test on-line. Participants who receive a passing grade of 75% or higher on the test will receive 2 CE credits. Failing participants may retake the test as often as they wish at no additional charge, and receive CE credit when they do pass.

A copy of the conference paper needed for this course is available here McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel (2005), at no cost.

More detailed information on the content of this article is given in section 2h below.

APR Testing Services is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APR Testing Services maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

2.a Educational Objectives (top)

Upon completion of this home study program, the participant will be able to:

  1. Describe how and why test validity publication bias may occur.
  2. Identify the weaknesses of the traditional failsafe-N method for detecting publication bias.
  3. Describe the theoretical basis of the new trim and fill approach to detecting publication bias.
  4. Describe the mechanics of the trim and fill approach.

2.b Target Audience (top)

This CE program is intended for psychologists who hold a doctoral degree. The course may be taken by other interested professionals (e.g.,senior human resource executives and consultants; upper-level managers).

2.c Schedule (top)

Access to program registration and post-test is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

2.d Cost and Refund/Cancellation Policy (top)

The fee for this home-study program is $20, which is $10 per CE credit. The fee is fully refundable for 60 days or until the post-test is taken, whichever comes first.

A copy of the conference paper needed for this course is available here McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel (2005), at no cost.

2.e Author Credentials (top)

The authors of the Academy of Managment Conference paper you will read for this home-study course are Dr. M. McDaniel, Dr. H. Rothstein, and Dr. D. Whetzel. All three are Fellows of the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology and are widely published.

2.f Number of CE Credits Offered (top)

Participants who complete this course by taking and passing the multiple-choice test will receive 2 CE credits.

2.g Location and Format (top)

This activity requires independent home-based study of a conference paper (McDaniel, Rothstein, & Whetzel, 2005). Participants complete an Internet-based, multiple-choice test on the written material.

2.h Detailed Description of Program Material (top)

Publication citation:

McDaniel, M.A., Rothstein, H., & Whetzel, D.L. (2005) Do Employment Test Publisher Manuals Provide Accurate Information on Test Validity? Presented at the annual conference of the Academy of Management Convention Honolulu, August 2005.

Paper abstract:

This paper has two goals. First, we discuss the issue of publication bias and explain why it presents a problem for organizational and human resources research. After reviewing the traditional failsafe N, or file drawer analysis, we introduce a more sophisticated method of publication bias analysis (Trim and Fill) that has been developed in the medical literature but which is largely unfamiliar to human resources, organizational behavior, and management researchers. We demonstrate the Trim and Fill approach to conducting publication bias analyses by applying it to validity information reported in three test publishers' technical manuals. In doing so, we assess the likelihood that criterion-related validity information provided by test publishers may overestimate test validity. Our application of the Trim and Fill publication bias method to twelve validity distributions (five from one publisher, three from a second publisher, and four from a third publisher) found evidence of either no bias or minimal bias for most of the distributions. However, in the case of one publisher, the level of bias in two of three cases was serious enough to substantially change validity estimates.

3. Conflict of Interest Statement (top)

APR Testing Services (APR) has no known conflict of interest with respect to this CE program. APR has not received any commercial support for this CE program.