NCJ Number
177199
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: Winter 1999 Pages: 71-80
Date Published
1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Issues associated with the use of summary measures of individual-level data as performance indicators are considered; two scales, job satisfaction and institutional commitment, illustrate the necessity of evaluating the purpose, conceptualization, measurement, and presentation of summary measures.
Abstract
Applied organizational researchers routinely conduct surveys of staff members to obtain information about individual behaviors and attitudes. Certain issues, however, must be addressed that are associated with using survey data in a summary manner. These issues concern intended uses of the data, theoretical understanding of the summary measures, proper identification of what causes the measures to differ, and choice of the appropriate measure to display to managers. Differences in evaluations by members of an organization may arise due to differences in individual evaluators and/or differences in organizational influences. The feasibility of using job satisfaction and institutional commitment as summary measures in corrections research is discussed, and potential problems in the use of unadjusted summary measures are noted. 14 references, 1 table, and 3 figures