QUESTIONNAIRES: THE PERSONAL HISTORY
RECORD AND THE INTEREST ANALYSIS
Definition of a questionnaire. Uses of a questionnaire in an investigation
of this sort. Characteristics of a good questionnaire. Obtaining the data.
IN THE preceding chapters we have considered in some
detail two types of aids to the scientific selection of personnel:
 one which may be used for measuring abilities, the
psychological test; and another which may be used to record
systematic estimates of abilities, the rating scale. It remains
to consider a third type of device, the questionnaire, which
has also an important place in a study in scientific vocational
selection.
There are basic functional distinctions between the questionnaire
 and the other two types of examination.
A test is a sampling of performance. It answers the question:
 What can the worker do under certain circumstances,
as, for example, what problems can he solve, what information
 can he impart?
A rating scale is a systematization of estimates. It answers
 the question: What do others think of the worker, or
what does he think of himself, or, more precisely, what do
they say they think of him?
A questionnaire is a systematization of inquiry concerning
 facts as they exist or have existed. It answers the question:
 What facts does the worker give about himself, or
what facts do others give about him? Typical kinds of
questionnaires for this purpose include such forms as the
application blank and the interest report blank.
The end result of the use of a test is a measure of per-XI


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