Work, Jobs, and Occupations: A Critical Review of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles

454 Pages·1980·7.46 MB·English

by  edited by A. R. Miller, D. T. Treiman, P. S. Cain, and P. A. Roos

i
WORK, JOBS, AND
OCCUPATIONS:
A Critical Review of the Dictionary of Occupational
Titles
ANN R.MILLER DONALD J.TREIMAN PAMELA S.CAIN
PATRICIA A.ROOS Editors
Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis
Assembly of Behavioral and Social Sciences
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1980
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
ii
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy
of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of
the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard
for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures
approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sci-
ences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of further-
ing knowledge and of advising the federal government. The Council operates in accordance with
general policies determined by the Academy under the authority of its Congressional charter of
1863, which establishes the Academy as a private, non-profit, self-governing membership corpora-
tion. The Council has become the principal operating agency of both the Academy of Sciences and
the National Academy of Engineering in the conduct of their services to the government, the public,
and the scientific and engineering communities. It is administered jointly by both Academies and
the Institute of Medicine. The Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine were estab-
lished in 1964 and 1970, respectively, under the charter of the Academy of Sciences.
The material in this project was prepared under grant no. 21-11-77-35 from the Employment and
Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, under the authority of Title III, Part B, of the
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973. Researchers undertaking such projects
under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment. There-
fore, points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent the official
position or policy of the Department of Labor.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
National Research Council. Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis.
Work, Jobs, and Occupations.
Bibliography: p.
1. United States. Employment Service. Dictionary of occupational titles. 2. United States—
Occupations. 3. Occupations—Dictionaries. 4. Occupations—Classification. I. Miller, Ann Ratner.
II. Title.
HB2595.N37 1980 331.7•003 80–24653
ISBN 0-309-03093-5
Available from
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
iii
COMMITTEE ON OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION
AND ANALYSIS
ANN R.MILLER (Chairman),Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania
DAVID P.CAMPBELL, Vice President of Research and Programs, Center for Creative
Leadership
MARY DUNLAP,University of Texas School of Law
G.FRANKLIN EDWARDS,Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Howard
University
RICHARD C.EDWARDS,Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts
LEON FESTINGER,Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research
GARY D.GOTTFREDSON,Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins
University
JOHN A.HARTIGAN,Department of Statistics, Yale University
DORIS P.HAYWOOD, Assistant Vice President,Human Resources, Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co.
WESLEY R.LIEBTAG, Director of Personnel Programs,International Business
Machines Corporation
ROBERT E.B.LUCAS,Department of Economics, Boston University
KAREN O.MASON,Population Studies Center, University of Michigan
ERNEST J.McCORMICK (Professor Emeritus),Department of Psychological Sciences,
Purdue University
GUS TYLER, Assistant President,International Ladies Garment Workers Union
STAFF
DONALD J.TREIMAN, Study Director
PAMELA S.CAIN, Research Associate
HEIDI I.HARTMANN, Research Associate
PATRICIA A.ROOS, Research Associate
MONICA K.SINDING, Research Associate
CHARLES F.TURNER, Research Associate
JUNE PRICE, Research Assistant
ROSE S.KAUFMAN, Administrative Secretary
BENITA ANDERSON, Secretary
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
iv
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
CONTENTS v
Contents
PREFACE xix
1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1
INTRODUCTION 1
Charge to the Committee 2
Organization of the Report 4
SUMMARY 4
Content and Structure of the DOT 4
Use of the DOT by the Employment Service 5
Use of the DOT Outside the Employment Service 6
The Occupational Analysis Program 7
Production of the Fourth Edition DOT 8
Assessment of the Occupational Information in the DOT 9
The Classification of Occupations for Job-Worker Matching 11
Conclusions and Recommendations 13
Data Collection Procedures 14
Measurement of Occupational Characteristics 14
Classification Issues 15
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
CONTENTS vi
Other Needed Research 15
Organizational and Administrative Issues 15
Supplementary Materials 16
2 THE FOURTH EDITION DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL 18
TITLES: STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
OCCUPATIONAL TITLES 18
THE DOT CODE 19
INDUSTRY DESIGNATION 25
DEFINITIONS 25
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 27
RELATED PUBLICATIONS 27
SUMMARY 30
3 USE OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES BY 31
THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
USE OF THE DOT IN PLACEMENT AND COUNSELING 32
A Source of Occupational Information 32
Placement 33
Self-Referral 34
Interviewer Referral 34
Counseling 35
Evaluation of DOT Use 37
OTHER USES OF THE DOT 40
Testing 40
Labor Certification 42
SUMMARY 43
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
CONTENTS vii
4 USE OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES 45
OUTSIDE THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
COLLECTING DATA ON DOT USES 46
Description of the Universe 46
Sampling Design 46
Probability Survey of DOT Purchasers 47
Interviews, Case Studies, and a Survey of Institutional 49
Users
Survey of Researchers 50
Timetable of Survey Procedures 50
INSTITUTIONAL USES OF THE DOT: A SAMPLE OF 51
PURCHASERS
How the DOT is Used 53
How Essential is the DOT? 57
Adequacy of the DOT 59
GOVERNMENT USES OF THE DOT 63
Interview Results 63
Employment Training and Production of Occupational 63
Information
Disability Determination 68
Rehabilitation and Employment Counseling 70
Vocational and Occupational Education 72
Other Users of the DOT 74
Department of Defense 74
Office of Personnel Management 75
Development of the Standard Occupational Classifica- 76
tion
Bureau of the Census 76
STATE GOVERNMENT USERS: THE SOICC GROUP 77
RESEARCH USES OF THE DOT 81
Classification 81
Job Titles and Definitions 82
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
CONTENTS viii
Worker Traits and Worker Functions 82
Data, People, and Things 82
Training Time 83
Other Worker Traits 84
Use of DOT Concepts in Other Scales and Classifications 84
Evaluation of DOT Data 86
USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF OTHER OCCUPATIONAL 87
ANALYSIS PRODUCTS
Occupational Analysis Branch 88
Job Search Branch 89
SUMMARY 91
5 ORGANIZATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS 93
PROGRAM OF THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
INTRODUCTION 93
THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS BRANCH 95
THE JOB SEARCH BRANCH 98
THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS FIELD CENTERS 100
Overview: Organization 101
Staffing and Organization of Work 103
Functional Specialization of the Field Centers 104
Major Field Center Activities 107
Production of the DOT 107
Career Guides and Brochures 108
Training and Technical Assistance 109
Special Projects 110
CONCLUSION 112
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.
CONTENTS ix
6 PROCEDURES USED TO PRODUCE THE FOURTH EDI- 114
TION DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 115
SAMPLING FOR THE DOT 115
Assignment of Industries to Field Centers 116
Establishment Selection 118
JOB ANALYSIS PROCEDURES 120
Staffing Schedule and Organization and Process Flow Charts 121
Job Analysis 124
Writing the Job Description and Assigning a DOT Code 126
Rating Worker Traits 132
Completing an Establishment Study 139
Modifications of Procedures 140
Definition Writing for the DOT 141
CONCLUSION 145
7 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPA- 148
TIONAL TITLES AS A SOURCE OF OCCUPATIONAL
INFORMATION
INTRODUCTION 148
SAMPLING PROCEDURES 149
SOURCE DATA 155
RATINGS OF WORKER FUNCTIONS AND WORKER 164
TRAITS
Validity 164
Reliability 168
OCCUPATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 173
The Factor Structure 176
Sex Bias in the Rating of Occupations 188
CONCLUSION 191
About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the
original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be
retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution.