Self Directed Search Training
SDS Training
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Overview and Impact of the RIASEC theory
History of SDS
Description of Components
Interpretation
Development
Reliability and Validity
Administration/Scoring Options
Overview
• Self-administered, self-scored, and selfinterpreted career counseling tool
• Originally developed by John Holland, based on
his RIASEC person-environment typology:
Realistic
Social
Investigative
Enterprising
Artistic
Conventional
Realistic (R) types like realistic occupations such as mechanical engineer, landscape
gardener, sound technician, cook, exterminator, plumber, locksmith, or safety inspector. They
usually have mechanical and athletic abilities, like to work outdoors and with tools and
machines, and like to work with things more than people.
Investigative (I) types like investigative occupations such as biologist, surgeon,
veterinarian, airplane pilot, translator, pharmacist, or actuary. They usually have mathematical
and scientific ability, like to work alone, and like to explore and understand things or events
rather than persuade others.
Artistic (A) types like artistic occupations such as writer, graphic designer, fashion
designer, public relations representative, editor, or architect. They usually have artistic skills,
enjoy creating original work, and have a good imagination.
Social (S) types like social occupations such as teacher, counselor, nanny, librarian, speech
therapist, or home health aide. They usually like to be around other people, are interested in
how people get along, and like to help, teach, and counsel people more than engage in
mechanical or technical activities.
Enterprising (E) types like enterprising occupations such as salesperson, contractor,
entrepreneur, human resources specialist, lawyer, newscaster, or lobbyist. They usually have
leadership and speaking abilities, are interested in money and politics, and like to persuade or
direct others more than work on scientific or complicated topics.
Conventional (C) types like conventional occupations such as accountant, cashier, fire
inspector, data manager, or proofreader. They usually have clerical and math abilities, like to
work indoors and organize things, and like to follow orderly routines and meet clear standards,
avoiding work that does not have clear directions.
Hexagonal Model
Impact of Holland’s Theory
• Holland’s theory has been described as the most comprehensively
studied career theory (Brown & Lent, 2013; Nauta, 2010; pokane & Cruza-Guet, 2005)
• Holland’s RIASEC typology is the most widely used model for
organizing career interest assessment instruments (Gottfredson & Holland, 1996)
• It is used in approximately 50 different career information delivery
systems (McDaniel & Snell, 1999; Savikas, 1999)
• “Arguably no theory of career development has had a greater
influence on the practice of career counseling and education than
Holland’s” (Rayman and Atanasoff, 1999)
• Holland’s theory has come to dominate the design of most interest
inventories (Savikas, 1999)
Journal Citations
Holland Citations, 1999 - 2009
Journal
Journal of Career Assessment
Career Development Quarterly
Journal of Vocational Behavior
Journal of Career Development
Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development
Journal of Counseling Psychology
The Counseling Psychologist
Journal of Counseling and Development
% of Published
Articles Citing
Holland
47
32
18
18
9
7
5
2
(Nauta, 2010)
Holland Bibliography (1953-2011)
NUMBER OF REFERENCES PER YEAR
600
556
500
478
455
400
387
300
200
100
81
0
5
1953-1961
8
1962-1971
1972-1981
1982-1991
1992-2001
2002-2011
No Year
(Foutch, McHugh, Bertoch, & Reardon, 2013)
Historical Overview
1971
19711975
1977
1985
1994
2010
67 items revised
2013
+ fast-growing
jobs
- declining jobs
reduce item
overlap
Omit items
with extreme
endorsement
Major
revision
to
scoring
First
Edition
Several
changes
to
scoring
50 jobs
added to
OF
↑
applicability
to larger age
range
Update the
instructions
OF increased
from 501 to
1,156
+ jobs ↑GED
levels
- of ↓GED
levels
Substitution of
job titles
Inclusion of all
3-letter Holland
codes
Better
instructions
Reminders to
explore all
permutations of
code
Revision of
OF to
include
O*NET
codes
Release of
5th Edition
of the SDS
Form R
Assessment
Booklet
Summary Code
You and Your
Career
Occupation
Finder
Educational
Opportunities
Finder
Leisure
Activities
Finder
• It is more than a test or an inventory-it is a
simulated career decision-making activity with
sections that cover activities that might typically
occur during a career counseling or advising
session.
• The activity is structured around questions such as:
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–
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What occupations have you thought about in the past?
Tell me about the things you like to do.
What things can you do well or competently?
What occupations do or do not appeal to you?
How would you rate your abilities and skills compared to
others your age?
• The SDS captures the responses to these questions and links them to
other tools for educational and career planning.
1. Occupational Daydreams
• Measure of expressed interests
• Studies indicate that aspirations can be as predictive of future
occupational entry as formal, standardized interest inventory results
(e.g., Schoon, 2001)
• Practitioners can examine not only the occupation(s) listed but also the
RIASEC code(s) associated with the expressed daydreams
• Practitioner can suggest using the code listed for the first daydream
occupation to search for more possibilities in occupations or fields of
study with that same code
• Aspirations Summary Code
• The process of recalling an occupational history, the user is bringing
into current memory some occupations that may have been forgotten
2. Activities Section
• Mimics a counseling session where a practitioner might ask a person to
report on hobbies, activities, and leisure interests, as well as the
activities that he or she doesn’t enjoy
• Includes 6 RIASEC scales of 14 items
• Like or Dislike
• It is possible that there is an important story behind many of the items
marked “like” or “dislike” by the user in this section
3. Competencies Section
• Practitioners would typically ask clients to describe their skills (things
they had learned to do in the past; things that the client had never
done before)
• Should not ignore history of skills, education, and work-related
accomplishments
• Includes 6 RIASEC scales of 14 items each
• Yes or No format
• People often develop skills in things that are important or interesting
to them
4. Occupations Section
• Provides the practitioner with some information about the
feelings/attitudes the user has toward a set of occupations
• Based on Holland’s Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI)
• Includes 6 RIASEC scales of 14 items each
• Yes or No format
• The number and type of occupations they endorse provides a
wealth of information
5. Self-Estimates Section
• Self-efficacy, or beliefs that a person can actually do particular
tasks
• Help address situations when a person has a high ability score
(e.g., math) but reports low self-ratings (e.g., math/science).
Interest in creative arts, but no perceived abilities in this area.
• 6 RIASEC scales are rated twice (from 1 to 7) with respect to
ability/skills
• Users are asked to rate themselves on each of the traits, as
compared with other persons their own age
5. Self-Estimates Section
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Mechanical ability
Scientific ability
Artistic ability
Teaching ability
Sales ability
Clerical skills
Manual skills
Math ability
Musical ability
Understanding of Others
Managerial skills
Office skills
Summary Score
• Provides a way to move from a simulation to an assessed
measure of interests
• Summary Code = a measure of a users’ vocational personality
Assessment Booklet
• What Your Summary Code Means
– Brief description and suggestions
• Some Next Steps
– Activities that can help further explore
• Resources
– Websites that provide additional information
You and Your Career
• Understanding Careers
• Description of RIASEC type/occupational types
• Making Career Decisions
• Resources
Occupations Finder
• Revised to include new and developing
occupations
• Over 1,200 occupations included
• Summary Codes are linked to
occupations found in the Occupational
Information Network (O*NET) database
Veteran and Military Occupations Finder
• Two Indexes:
• The Military Occupations Index lists active
Military Occupational Classifications (MOCs)
and corresponding two-letter Holland
Occupational Codes (HOC).
• The Military to Civilian Occupations Crosswalk
lists active MOCs along with corresponding
civilian occupations and two-letter HOCs.
• All Five Branches: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard,
Marine Corps, Navy
• Based on a crosswalk between MOC and O*NET
Occupations that was created for the My Next
Move for Veterans program
Educational Opportunities Finder
• Revised using the 2010 Classification
of Instructional Programs (CIP)
• Over 1,000 programs of study
• Individuals can use the online
O*NET Education Crosswalk to find
info about occupations that
correspond to programs of study
identified in the EOF
Leisure Activity Finder
• Revised to include new and developing
leisure activities
• Over 800 leisure activities, over 100
more than 1997 edition
Client Report
• RIASEC theory, description of the Summary
Code and other resources, similar to YYC
• Includes specific information about the
client: the occupations, programs of study
and leisure activities associated with their
code
Professional Report
• In addition to the information contained in
the Client Report
• Diagnostic Signs Summary Table
• Provides specific interpretative
text/recommendations based on
client’s scores
Interpretation
• Some view the SDS as a simple tool that falls short of
being a sophisticated, complex assessment of career
interests
• One of the strengths of the SDS is the
straightforward way it collects personal information
and transforms it into educational, occupational, and
leisure options
• In addition, it provides useful diagnostic information
that informs the career counseling process
Theory Based Interpretive Ideas
Basic Interpretive Ideas
• Personality – interests, traits, goals and values
implied by Summary Code
• Congruence – degree of fit between Summary Code
and Summary Aspiration Code
Theory Based Interpretive Ideas
Qualifying Interpretive Ideas
• Coherence - refers to the degree to which the first
letters of codes for the first three occupations listed
in the user’s Daydreams belong in the same Holland
Code category.
• Consistency – refers to the personality pattern or
interest profile in terms of proximity of the first two
letters of the Summary Code on the hexagon.
Theory Based Interpretive Ideas
Qualifying Interpretive Ideas (cont.)
• Profile Elevation – total number of positive responses
across all items
• Differentiation – level of distinctness in a profile
(lowest score from the highest)
• Commonness – frequency with which a code is
observed in a comparison sample
Item Development
• Form R and CP items were combined
• Experts reviewed suggestions and made
recommendations
• Panel rated new items on:
• Quality of item
• Degree to which the item represent the
associated RIASEC type
• Face validity/relevance of the item
• Potential bias or other problems
Pilot Sample
Sample Size
206
Gender
Male 48.1 Female 51.9
Average Age
34.3 (range 11-70)
Race/Ethnicity
84.0% Caucasian
12.1% African American
0.0% Hispanic
3.0% Other
Level of Education (Adults)
20.4% School-age (grade 5-12)
11.2% Less than HS degree
18.4% HS graduate
16.3% Some college
33.7% College graduate
Standardization
Sample Size
1,739
Gender
Male 49.5 Female 50.5
Average Age
34.5 (range 11-70)
Race/Ethnicity
61.6% Caucasian
13.7% African American
17.4% Hispanic
7.0% Other
Level of Education (Adults)
13.6% Less than HS degree
28.1% HS graduate
30.0% Some college
28.3% College graduate
Level of Education
(School Age)
24.6% 5th through 8th grade
67.0% High School
8.4% Some College
Reliability and Validity
Reliability
• Internal Consistency
• Standard Error of Measurement
• Test Re-test
• Inter-scorer
Validity
• Face Validity
• Intercorrelations
• Equivalency (Print/Online, 4th/5th Edition)
• Convergent Validity
• Predictive Validity
Inter-Scorer Reliability
• Given that the SDS can be self-scored, it is important
to examine how common errors occur
• 3.3% error rate by trained professional (using
calculator)
• 10% error rate by trained professional (not using
calculator)
Equivalence
• 4th and 5th Edition
• n = 60
• r = .74 to .95
• Print and Online
• n = 53
• r = .85 to .98
• Consistent with studies on 4th edition
Convergent Validity
Career Interest
• Strong
• O*NET Interest Profiler
Personality
• NEO
Career Thoughts
• Career Thoughts Inventory
Predictive Validity
Predictive Validity
• Employed in position for 1+ years
• Unsatisfied = only 21% were found to have a high
point code match between their job’s Holland
Code and their SDS Summary Code
• Satisfied = twice as many people (42%) had a
match
• Of the 1,739 standardization sample 1,441 reported
aspirations
• 73% had an agreement score of 1 or better with
their Summary Code and Aspiration Code
Administration and Scoring Options
Administration Payment
Reports
Print
Traditional
Manual Entry from
form via iConnect
SDS Website
Group account
Credit Card
PO (CS)
Volume Discount
Individual
Credit Card
Paypal
Password
Client Report only
iAdmins
Reports
Volume Discount
Client Report
Professional Report
Combo Report
iConnect
Report link sent to
client (and group
account admin.)