The Construct Validity of a Career Interest Inventory Representing Sixteen Subclusters within Eight Major Career Clusters of Professional Level Occupational Activities

Abstract

Construct validity was demonstrated for sixteen career subclusters through factor analysis of an occupational inventory based on interests in professional level job activities. Based on an experimental inventory of 192 items consisting of 16 scales of 12 items each, subscores were obtained representing three subclusters of four items each within each of the 16 hypothesized subclusters. Responses from a sample of 1,370 college students were submitted to factor analysis. In terms of the factor loadings of each subtest it was evident that 13 well defined factors emerged, the three other factors found in previous studies were not so strongly evident in the analysis of this item pool. On the basis of the current data it would appear at the professional level of employment that the eight broad clusters of items in the COPS P describing work activities can be broken down into 16 subclusters reflecting job activities.