Die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die potensiaalindeksbattery in die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens in Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

Scientific assessment plays a very important role in South African organisations and elsewhere. The new Labour Relations Act in South Africa places a lot of emphasis on assessment. Psychometric tests need to be validated in order to be fair. The Potencial lndex Battery, developed by Drs. Erasmus and Minnaar, is such an assessment instrument. Research on the reliability and validity of the PIB in the South African context has been done. The South African Police Service (SAPS) recruited constables nationally during 1998 in all the provinces. Approximately 600 000 applicants applied and 19 095 had to undergo psychometric assessment. The PIB was used as assessment instrument. The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability en validity of the PIB in the SAPS on the Zulu speaking applicants in Kwazulu Natal. The literature focuses in this mimi-dissertation on psychological testing in South Africa and on the legal aspects. The validation of assessment instruments and fairness and biasness are also discussed. Survey research is used as research design and the Ad-PIB is used specifically as measuring instrument. Sub-populations of Zulu-speaking applicants with the highest and lowest scores on the cognitive indexes on the Ad-PIB are used. The Cronbach alpha coefficient and factor analysis were used to determine the reliability and validity on the indexes used in the recruitment process. Results of the empirical investigation indicate that the specific indexes on the Ad-PIB are reliable, but that the construct validity of the indexes can not be confirmed. Recommendations for future research are suggested.