Dimensionality of the Job Element Inventory, a simplified worker-oriented job analysis questionnaire

Abstract

Although worker-oriented job inventories such as the Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ) have become very popular, the high level of verbal ability they require limits the range of situations in which they may be applied. In an effort to make the worker-oriented approach more widely applicable, Cornelius and Hakel (1978) developed the Job Element Inventory (JEI), a structured questionnaire modeled after the PAQ but with a much lower reading level. Using the approach followed when deriving the PAQ's dimensionality, we examined the factor structure of the JEI. In Study 1 we reported the results of factor and policy-capturing analyses of JEI data from 2,029 U.S. Coast Guard incumbents, and in Study 2 we reported quantitative comparisons between the JEI and PAQ factors on a sample of 85 municipal government positions. Our results indicate that JEI factors closely parallel those of the PAQ. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)