Online self assessment

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With the term Online Self Assessment (OSA) are in the higher education sector Internet-based study counseling services referred to a self-assessment of suitability allow for a degree or compliance with interests and expectations - without that third parties have to be brokered (about academic advisor ). It is a special form of online assessment that the candidates work on themselves and receive and interpret the results directly.

features

Interested persons test themselves here on the Internet (independently and subject-psychologically uncontrolled). The psychological-diagnostic procedures used deviate with their specific questions or tasks from those used in specialist psychological case treatment in order to prevent them from deteriorating too quickly (i.e. items becoming known in the population concerned).

An essential feature is that they contain interactive elements in addition to the presentation of study information. These can include both psychological-diagnostic components that give the participants feedback on their personal fit to a special educational offer / study program, as well as simulative components and work samples that provide a realistic preview (similar to the concept of the realistic job preview ) of the study and enable its requirements.

In addition to traditional text-based study information, OSAs can also integrate media elements. This includes, for example, virtual campus tours or interviews with students and alumni .

Anonymity and voluntariness are two important conditions for meaningfulness. If personality traits, interests and other "soft skills" are included, an honest answer is necessary (none according to " social desirability") . If the participants remain anonymous and there is no reason to fear that they will be used for admission decisions in NC subjects, this is most likely to happen. Some universities require participation (and then issue a certificate of attendance). It is important to check critically whether a corresponding coding system for these documents still guarantees anonymity. There are indications that the results of “compulsory participation” differ significantly from those of voluntary participation: in the case of the former, the relationships to external criteria (e.g. school performance) are significantly lower and the answers are probably chosen more randomly.

The test values ​​obtained are only meaningful if the test is carried out in accordance with the instructions; As part of the course counseling, the user is responsible for carrying out the psychological-diagnostic procedures in accordance with the instructions. The resulting test values ​​are interpreted semi-individually: the interpretations of a manageable number of combinations of possible test value classes were prepared in advance in order to provide feedback that best corresponds to the respective test profile (possibly also with suggested measures). In other words, applicants are informed of their strengths and weaknesses in relation to the desired study place; However, no recommendation is made for a decision, but only suggestions are made as to how and with what effort the identified weaknesses can be countered (compensatory).

Purposes

Online self-assessments, as well as personnel recruitment instruments in a company context, are caught between marketing and (self) selection: suitable applicants should be encouraged to apply by the OSAs. Less well-suited applicants should be able to recognize this and refrain from applying. At the same time, prospective students should be supported in developing realistic expectations of a particular course (advisory and orientation function). In the psychological-diagnostic sense, OSAs thus fulfill the functions of status and modification diagnostics, with clear differences in their focus between the online self-assessments of the individual universities.

In medicine , the situation is somewhat different: there is a clear surplus of applicants. Since medical study places are very expensive, one wants to reduce the drop-out rate during the studies by refraining from applying for people who have false expectations regarding studies and work or who go beyond pure performance (which is taken into account by high school graduation averages or study aptitude tests ) Have “ soft skills ” (inclinations and interests, personality traits relevant to the study) and only discover dissatisfaction during the study.

Since this is a "job-related suitability assessment", the relevant parts of DIN 33430 must be observed. A key difference is that there is no direct contact with the contractor (as the person carrying out the suitability assessment).

OSA and student advice

In the current debate, the distinction between online self-assessments and central or subject-specific study advice is often discussed. In the sense of a "blended" approach, these two orientation approaches are not competing with each other, but complement each other.

So far, only a few meaningful evaluations of the OSA are available. One reason is the necessary anonymity: It is very difficult to determine predictive values ​​from real study results. In this respect, one is dependent on the information provided by the participants about previous (school) achievements and the assessment of the usefulness of the OSA.

advantages

  • For the institution: Resource savings (space, time and personnel savings; development and maintenance costs can be shared with other institutions)
  • For applicants: little effort, no dependence on available staff on the part of the institution, anonymous, voluntary, free of charge
  • In terms of content: personality questionnaires can also be used, as it is in the applicant's interest to receive conclusive test results and thus an (intended) falsification is usually not expected.

See also

literature

  • Manfred Amelang, Werner Zielinski: Psychological diagnostics and intervention. 3. Edition. Springer, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-540-42840-2 .
  • K. Rentzsch, A. Schütz: Psychological diagnostics. Basics and application perspectives. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-17-019840-1 .
  • John P. Wanous: Organizational Entry. Recruitment, Selection, Orientation and Socialization of Newcomers. Addison-Wesley, Eastbourne 1992, ISBN 0-201-51480-X .
  • Georg Rudinger , Katharina Horsch (Ed.): Self-Assessment at Universities: From the choice of subject to profile formation (Applied Research in Psychology and Evaluation). 1st edition. V&R Unipress, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89971-725-9 .
  • Klaus D. Kubinger, Martina Frebort, Lale Khorramdel, Lisbeth Weitensfelder (Eds.): Self-Assessment: Theory and Concepts. Pabst, Lengerich / Berlin / Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-89967-782-9 .
  • Kupka, K., Adler, L., Diercks, J., Kieback, S., Kast, J. (2013). HAW-Studienwahl-Navigator: Needs-based, university and course-specific online course orientation , magazine for business psychology, issue 1-2013, 56-71.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c K. D. Kubinger: Psychological diagnosis: theory and practice of psychological diagnosis. 2. revised and exp. Edition. Hogrefe, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8017-2254-8 .
  2. ↑ Kristof Kupka: Internet-based simulative games and self-assessments as an aid to choosing a career, study and training course. In: Ulrich Blötz (Ed.), Business games in vocational training. Bertelsmann, Bielefeld 2005, ISBN 3-7639-1054-9 .
  3. ↑ KD Kubinger, H. Moosbrugger, M. Frebort, E. Jonkisz, S. Reiss: The importance of self-assessments for applying for a place at university . In: Report Psychology. 32, 2007, pp. 322-332.
  4. ↑ Johann Pixner, Dennis Mocigemba: Online self-assessments at the University of Freiburg: Between the poles of course marketing and self-selection. In: Georg Rudinger , Katharina Hörsch (eds.): Self-Assessment at Universities: From the choice of subject to profile formation. V&R unipress, Göttingen 2009, ISBN 978-3-89971-725-9 , pp. 139-147.
  5. ↑ K.-D. Hänsgen: “Self-Assessment” - additional advice on choosing a course and career in medicine. (PDF; 171 kB)
  6. ↑ Joachim Diercks, Jutta Kast, Kristof Kupka, Katharina Bolten: HAW-Navigator - Internet-based orientation and self-assessment instruments and their connection with the student advisory service at the HAW Hamburg. In: Journal for Advice and Studies. 1/2009.
  7. ↑ Evaluation reports of the OSA on the medical studies Switzerland / Austria of the ZTD Freiburg / Switzerland