I am trying to find data on the proportions of US corporations using
personnel selection methods (like ability tests, assessment
centers)for the recruitment of graduates, managers and other staff to
compare with data I already have for England. In England such data is
usually produced by academics, psychological test producers etc.

Hi,

Thanks for your question. In the US - but they do have the tendency to
go international - there is one leading organization for these issues:
the ASTD. I believe that it stands for the American Society for
Training and Development but they are now only using their acronym.
Their website offers a wealth of information, although they do ask
payment for some of their key research.
Every year they release a report on the state of the industry, as they
call it. They do publish a free summery of that report, but that is
really only a teaser with very general information.
Their key work is benchmarking. They rely very much in the input from
their members and others from the industry and others to compare
development in the industry in a very detailled way: you will have to
look for the benchmaking forum.
"ASTD provides expertise in project management; international business
issues; research, survey development, and statistical analysis;
database and information management; and content across the field of
training, learning, and performance improvement," they write
themselves about the forum.

I have seen some of their report in the past and it is certainly worth
the money you have to pay.

Thanks again for your question,

Fons

Links:
the summery of "The state of the industry"
http://www.astd.org/virtual_community/research/pdf/2002_SIR_Executive_Summary.pdf

The benchmarking forum
http://www.astd.org/virtual_community/research/bench/benchmarking_forum_main.html

Their general website
www.astd.org

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Request for Answer Clarification by englishresearcher-ga on 28 Jun 2002 16:47 PDT

The ASTD deals with training and development issues, as the name
suggests, but has nothing to do with what my question was aimed at
discovering - finding a source of data (or better still publicly
available data as such) regarding personnel SELECTION methods. On the
whole, a lot more information is produced regarding training than
selection, and a lot more general blah blah than hard data on actual
usage. So, regrettably, the ASTD reference doesn't really address the
question as such.

Any other thoughts would be much aprpeciated,

---

Clarification of Answer by fons-ga on 28 Jun 2002 19:55 PDT

I agree with you that the ASTD's free information has a high level of
fried air. When I would not have met them in person, hear them talk
and had a thorough look at their printed material, I would not have
advised them to you as the leading source for the information you ask.
They do have exactly the information you are looking for. That does
includes also recruitment strategies, as you asked.
The tendency of keeping the real useful information out of the public
arena is not only their strategy. A related organization for the
public service is pursuing this strategy in a similar way as you can
see at the web site of of the IPMA.

The free available information I could locate was less than useful:
mainly propaganda for companies promoting their services, but no
attempt to consolidate research on the issues you are interested in.

It seems to be part of a change in the Internet that is irreversible:
the real useful information is becoming increasingly proprietary. I'm
sorry I cannot help you out further.

Link to ASTD recruitment information
http://www.astd.org/virtual_community/research/recrt_retnt.html

The site of the IPMA
http://www.ipma-hr.org/

A propaganda-site
http://www.hr-guide.com/data/019.htm

Search terms under google:
personnel selection USA
recruitment USA