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Titles
Washington, D.C. 1980
National Research Council
PATRICIA A.ROOS Editors
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
OCCUPATIONS:
Assembly of Behavioral and Social Sciences
WORK, JOBS, AND
A Critical Review of the Dictionary of Occupational
Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis
ANN R.MILLER DONALD J.TREIMAN PAMELA S.CAIN
i
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ii
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the
National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy
of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of
the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard
for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures
approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sci-
ences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was established by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to
associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of further-
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The material in this project was prepared under grant no. 21-11-77-35 from the Employment and
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under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their professional judgment. There-
fore, points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent the official
position or policy of the Department of Labor.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
National Research Council. Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis.
Work, Jobs, and Occupations.
Bibliography: p.
1. United States. Employment Service. Dictionary of occupational titles. 2. United States—
Occupations. 3. Occupations—Dictionaries. 4. Occupations—Classification. I. Miller, Ann Ratner.
II. Title.
HB2595.N37 1980 331.7•003 80–24653
ISBN 0-309-03093-5
Available from
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20418
Printed in the United States of America
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iii
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COMMITTEE ON OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION
AND ANALYSIS
(Chairman),Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania
ANN R.MILLER
DAVID P.CAMPBELL, Vice President of Research and Programs, Center for Creative
Leadership
MARY DUNLAP,University of Texas School of Law
G.FRANKLIN EDWARDS,Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Howard
University
RICHARD C.EDWARDS,Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts
LEON FESTINGER,Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research
GARY D.GOTTFREDSON,Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins
University
JOHN A.HARTIGAN,Department of Statistics, Yale University
DORIS P.HAYWOOD, Assistant Vice President,Human Resources, Metropolitan Life
Insurance Co.
WESLEY R.LIEBTAG, Director of Personnel Programs,International Business
Machines Corporation
ROBERT E.B.LUCAS,Department of Economics, Boston University
KAREN O.MASON,Population Studies Center, University of Michigan
ERNEST J.McCORMICK (Professor Emeritus),Department of Psychological Sciences,
Purdue University
GUS TYLER, Assistant President,International Ladies Garment Workers Union
STAFF
DONALD J.TREIMAN, Study Director
PAMELA S.CAIN, Research Associate
HEIDI I.HARTMANN, Research Associate
PATRICIA A.ROOS, Research Associate
MONICA K.SINDING, Research Associate
CHARLES F.TURNER, Research Associate
JUNE PRICE, Research Assistant
ROSE S.KAUFMAN, Administrative Secretary
BENITA ANDERSON, Secretary
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CONTENTS v
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Contents
PREFACE xix
1 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY 1
INTRODUCTION 1
Charge to the Committee 2
Organization of the Report 4
SUMMARY 4
Content and Structure of the DOT 4
Use of the DOT by the Employment Service 5
Use of the DOT Outside the Employment Service 6
The Occupational Analysis Program 7
Production of the Fourth Edition DOT 8
Assessment of the Occupational Information in the DOT 9
The Classification of Occupations for Job-Worker Matching 11
Conclusions and Recommendations 13
Data Collection Procedures 14
Measurement of Occupational Characteristics 14
Classification Issues 15
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CONTENTS vi
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Other Needed Research 15
Organizational and Administrative Issues 15
Supplementary Materials 16
2 THE FOURTH EDITION DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL 18
TITLES: STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
OCCUPATIONAL TITLES 18
THE DOT CODE 19
INDUSTRY DESIGNATION 25
DEFINITIONS 25
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 27
RELATED PUBLICATIONS 27
SUMMARY 30
3 USE OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES BY 31
THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
USE OF THE DOT IN PLACEMENT AND COUNSELING 32
A Source of Occupational Information 32
Placement 33
Self-Referral 34
Interviewer Referral 34
Counseling 35
Evaluation of DOT Use 37
OTHER USES OF THE DOT 40
Testing 40
Labor Certification 42
SUMMARY 43
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CONTENTS vii
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4 USE OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES 45
OUTSIDE THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
COLLECTING DATA ON DOT USES 46
Description of the Universe 46
Sampling Design 46
Probability Survey of DOT Purchasers 47
Interviews, Case Studies, and a Survey of Institutional 49
Users
Survey of Researchers 50
Timetable of Survey Procedures 50
INSTITUTIONAL USES OF THE DOT: A SAMPLE OF 51
PURCHASERS
How the DOT is Used 53
How Essential is the DOT? 57
Adequacy of the DOT 59
GOVERNMENT USES OF THE DOT 63
Interview Results 63
Employment Training and Production of Occupational 63
Information
Disability Determination 68
Rehabilitation and Employment Counseling 70
Vocational and Occupational Education 72
Other Users of the DOT 74
Department of Defense 74
Office of Personnel Management 75
Development of the Standard Occupational Classifica- 76
tion
Bureau of the Census 76
STATE GOVERNMENT USERS: THE SOICC GROUP 77
RESEARCH USES OF THE DOT 81
Classification 81
Job Titles and Definitions 82
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CONTENTS viii
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Worker Traits and Worker Functions 82
Data, People, and Things 82
Training Time 83
Other Worker Traits 84
Use of DOT Concepts in Other Scales and Classifications 84
Evaluation of DOT Data 86
USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF OTHER OCCUPATIONAL 87
ANALYSIS PRODUCTS
Occupational Analysis Branch 88
Job Search Branch 89
SUMMARY 91
5 ORGANIZATION OF THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS 93
PROGRAM OF THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
INTRODUCTION 93
THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS BRANCH 95
THE JOB SEARCH BRANCH 98
THE OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS FIELD CENTERS 100
Overview: Organization 101
Staffing and Organization of Work 103
Functional Specialization of the Field Centers 104
Major Field Center Activities 107
Production of the DOT 107
Career Guides and Brochures 108
Training and Technical Assistance 109
Special Projects 110
CONCLUSION 112
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CONTENTS ix
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6 PROCEDURES USED TO PRODUCE THE FOURTH EDI- 114
TION DICTIONARY OF OCCUPATIONAL TITLES,
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 115
SAMPLING FOR THE DOT 115
Assignment of Industries to Field Centers 116
Establishment Selection 118
JOB ANALYSIS PROCEDURES 120
Staffing Schedule and Organization and Process Flow Charts 121
Job Analysis 124
Writing the Job Description and Assigning a DOT Code 126
Rating Worker Traits 132
Completing an Establishment Study 139
Modifications of Procedures 140
Definition Writing for the DOT 141
CONCLUSION 145
7 AN ASSESSMENT OF THE DICTIONARY OF OCCUPA- 148
TIONAL TITLES AS A SOURCE OF OCCUPATIONAL
INFORMATION
INTRODUCTION 148
SAMPLING PROCEDURES 149
SOURCE DATA 155
RATINGS OF WORKER FUNCTIONS AND WORKER 164
TRAITS
Validity 164
Reliability 168
OCCUPATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS 173
The Factor Structure 176
Sex Bias in the Rating of Occupations 188
CONCLUSION 191
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CONTENTS x
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8 THE CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS: A REVIEW OF 196
SELECTED SYSTEMS
THE CLASSIFICATION STRUCTURE OF THE DOT 196
Creating Occupational Titles 197
Grouping Occupations 198
The DOT Code: The First Three Digits 199
The DOT Code: The Second Three Digits 200
Summary 201
The Keyword System of the Employment Service 201
EXISTING ALTERNATIVE CLASSIFICATIONS FOR JOB- 201
WORKER MATCHING
Minnesota Theory of Work Adjustment 203
Holland Classification of Careers 204
Summary 206
A MOBILITY-BASED APPROACH TO JOB-WORKER 206
MATCHING
Advantages and Disadvantages 208
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING OCCUPATIONAL 210
CLASSIFICATION FOR JOB-WORKER MATCHING
Other Methodologies 210
A Research Program for Developing Classifications 211
CONCLUSION 212
9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 214
CONCLUSIONS 214
Dictionary 215
Classification 216
Occupational Characteristics 216
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 217
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CONTENTS xi
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SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS 220
Data Collection Procedures 220
Measurement of Occupational Characteristics 224
Classification Issues 226
Other Needed Research 229
Organizational and Administrative Issues 231
APPENDIXES 235
A MATERIALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE USER SURVEY 237
B SITE VISITS TO SELECTED FEDERAL USERS OF THE 250
Dictionary of Occupational Titles,
Patricia A.Roos
BUREAU OF APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING 250
Using the DOT to Evaluate the Apprenticeability of 251
Occupations
Adequacy of the DOT 253
BUREAU OF DISABILITY INSURANCE 254
Using the DOT to Determine Disability Awards 255
Adequacy of the DOT 257
VETERANS ADMINISTRATION 258
Using the DOT in Counseling and Rehabilitation 258
Adequacy of the DOT 260
C ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RESEARCH USES OF 262
THE Dictionary of Occupational Titles,
June Price
D SELECTED MATERIALS PREPARED BY THE DIVISION 305
OF OCCUPATIONAL ANALYSIS, U.S. EMPLOY-
MENT SERVICE
PUBLICATIONS OF THE DIVISION OF OCCUPA- 305
TIONAL ANALYSIS SINCE 1965
National Office: Division of Occupational Analysis 305
Serial Publications 307
California Occupational Analysis Field Center 307
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CONTENTS xii
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Michigan Occupational Analysis Field Center 308
Missouri Occupational Analysis Field Center 309
New York Occupational Analysis Field Center 311
North Carolina Occupational Analysis Field Center 312
Texas Occupational Analysis Field Center 312
Utah Occupational Analysis Field Center 312
Washington Occupational Analysis Field Center 313
Wisconsin Occupational Analysis Field Center 313
E THE RATING OF DOT WORKER FUNCTIONS AND 315
WORKER TRAITS,
Pamela S.Cain and Bert F.Green, Jr.
STUDY DESIGN 316
RESULTS 319
TECHNICAL NOTE 329
F DOT SCALES FOR THE 1970 CENSUS CLASSIFICATION, 336
Patricia A.Roos and Donald J.Treiman
CENSUS SCORES FOR EIGHT DOT VARIABLES 337
CENSUS SCORES FOR FOUR FACTOR-BASED 338
SCALES
G USING COMPUTERS TO MATCH WORKERS AND 390
JOBS: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT OF THE U.S.
EMPLOYMENT SERVICE'S AUTOMATED MATCH-
ING SYSTEM,
Charles F.Turner
AUTOMATION AND JOB-WORKER MATCHING IN 392
THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS 393
KEYWORDING: THE EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 395
MATCHING SYSTEM
Description 396
Evaluating Keyword Matching 400
Use of Information 402
The Definition of Similarity 405
Adequacy of the Occupational Unit Division 406
Diversity of Computer Hardware and Languages 408
CONCLUSION 409
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H
CONTENTS
CISES,
ELS
REFERENCES
FEASIBILITY
John A.Hartigan
CAREER LADDERS
CLUSTERING ANALYSES
USING MOBILITY DATA TO DEVELOP OCCUPA-
STANDARDIZED RATES AND PROBABILITY MOD-
TIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS: EXPLORATORY EXER-
xiii
419
418
415
414
412
411
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xiv
CONTENTS
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Tables
2-1 DOT Titles: Description and Frequency 20
4-1 Distribution of DOT Purchasers, by Type of Employer (N=309) 52
4-2 Distribution of DOT Purchasers, by Type of Work (N=307) 52
4-3 Percentage Distribution of DOT Purchasers Engaged in Various 54
Types of Work, by Type of Employer
4-4 Percentage of DOT Purchasers Using Component Parts of the 55
DOT, by Type of Work
4-5 Percentage of DOT Purchasers Who Would Experience Disrup- 56
tion of Work if DOT Were Discontinued, by Type of Work
4-6 Percentage of DOT Purchasers Who Use Other Occupational 60
Information, by Type of Work
4-7 Percentage Distribution of Judgments of Adequacy of the DOT 62
forMain Purpose
4-8 Percentage of DOT Purchasers Desiring Specified Improvement, 64
by Type of Work
4-9 Percentage Distribution of Type of Work, by Type of Employer, 78
SOICC Group
4-10 Percentage of SOICC Group Using Component Parts of the DOT, 80
by Type of Work
4-11 Percentage Using Other Occupational Analysis (OA) Products 90
6-1 Field Center Industry Assignments 117
6-2 Worker Trait Summary 132
6-3 Definition Writing Assignments 141
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xv
CONTENTS
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7-1 Percentage Distribution of Establishments by SIC Industry Divi- 152
sion: Comparison of DOT Sample and U.S. Labor Force
7-2 Percentage Distribution of Establishments by Employment-Size 153
Class: Comparison of DOT Sample and U.S. Labor Force
7-3 Comparison of Percentage Distributions of DOT Titles and Labor 155
Force by DOT Occupational Categories
7-4 Percentage Distribution of DOT Titles by Major Group: The 157
DOT versus the Booz, Allen & Hamilton Sample
7-5 Percentage Distribution of DOT Titles by Number and Type of 158
Supporting Documentation
7-6 Percentage Distribution of Job Analysis Schedules by Selected 160
Characteristics for Selected Periods
7-7 Percentage Distribution of Job Analysis Schedules, by Selected 162
Characteristics and Type of Job
7-8 The DOT Occupational Characteristics, Fourth Edition 165
7-9 Reliability Estimates for Selected DOT Variables 170
7-10 Estimated Reliabilities, by Type of Occupation 172
7-11 Descriptive Statistics for Fourth Edition DOT Occupational Char- 174
acteristics
7-12 Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlation Coefficients for 178
DOT Variables
7-13 Factor Loadings: Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix 184
7-14 Factor Analysis of Fourth Edition DOT Occupational Characteris- 186
tics: Items and Loadings for Six Major Factors
7-15 Changes in the Scoring of DATA, PEOPLE, and THINGS 192
Between the Third and Fourth Editions of the DOT
E-1 Sources of Variation in Ratings of Occupational Characteristics 317
E-2 Complete Analysis of Variance for DATA 320
E-3 Complete Analysis of Variance for PEOPLE 321
E-4 Analysis of Variance Results: Degrees of Freedom and Mean 322
Squares
E-5 Variance Components for Significant Effects and Estimated Reli- 323
abilities
E-6 Estimated Reliabilities, by Type of Occupation 327
E-7 Rater Consensus by Occupation: Proportion of Modal Responses 330
E-8 Correlation of Raters With the Average of All Other Raters, 332
AcrossOccupations by Job Description Set
F-1 Worker Function and Selected Worker Trait Scores for 1970 U.S. 340
Census Occupational Categories
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H-1
G-1
F-4
F-3
F-2
CONTENTS
Categories
tional Categories
Single-Linkage Clusters
word Occupational Units
Factor Loadings: Varimax Rotated Factor Matrix
Factor-Based Scale Scores for 1970 U.S. Census Occupational
Decision Rules for Assigning DOT Scores to Missing Occupa-
Estimate of the Distribution of the National Labor Force by Key-
416
397
389
387
365
xvi
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CONTENTS
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Figures
2-1 Parts of the DOT code 21
2-2 Definitions of the worker function scales represented in the fourth, 22
fifth, and sixth digits of the DOT code
2-3 Examples of the four categories of information as the basis of the 26
DOT definition
2-4 Parts of a DOT definition 28
4-1 Distribution of the fourth edition Dictionary of Occupational Titles 48
5-1 Organizational structure of the occupational analysis program 97
6-1 Staffing schedule 122
6-2 Job analysis schedule 127
6-3 Scale for general educational development (GED) 134
6-4 Scale for specific vocational preparation (SVP) 137
6-5 Aptitude factors and rating scale 138
6-6 Temperament factors 138
6-7 Interest factors 139
6-8 Worksheet for definition writing 142
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xviii
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PREFACE xix
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Preface
The division of labor—the deployment of human resources in the
production of goods and services for society—has engaged the attention of
social observers throughout recorded history. For most of this time a limited
number of terms for describing traditional activities were sufficient to convey to
all the nature of the work performed. But the increased complexity of the
division of labor that accompanied what is commonly known as the industrial
revolution altered the situation; and the proliferation of services that has
become the mark of postindustrial society has continued to exacerbate the
difficulty of comprehending the nature of the tasks included in a given
occupational title. Moreover, the continuous impact of technological innovation
has meant that the work content of a specific occupation may change
dramatically although its title remains unaltered. Many years ago the compilers
of the pioneer A Dictionary of Occupational Terms (Great Britain Ministry of
Labour, 1927) observed that “[m]any industries are passing through a period of
transition, so that the same occupational term may still be applied, for example,
to handicraft workers, carrying through an entire series of manual operations,
and to factory hands tending a machine and working under conditions of high
specialisation.” Their example may be less pertinent now than it was in the
Britain of the 1920s, but the problem they refer to remains as critical as it was
then.
More than 100 years ago the U.S. Bureau of the Census began grouping
occupational titles, which had previously been merely listed, in its publications
in order to clarify the nature of the work performed.
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PREFACE xx
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Throughout this century the Census Bureau has published, as an integral part of
each census, a classified index of occupational titles included in each of its
published occupational units and has continued to group the units into broad
occupational categories. But the Census Bureau has never attempted to provide
descriptions of its categories or of its units.
As chapter 1 notes, when the U.S. Employment Service was first
established, it too relied on occupational titles for matching job seekers with
jobs, but it was quickly apparent that the lack of standardized descriptions
hindered the accomplishment of this task, and the compilation of the first
American Dictionary of Occupational Titles began almost immediately. For the
matching of workers and jobs in a system involving thousands of titles,
however, it is clearly not enough merely to describe activities; it is also
necessary to arrange the units defined in an order helpful in illuminating the
relationship of the nature of the work in one unit to that in others. The resulting
arrangement is, then, a classification system, organized according to certain
principles, assumed or demonstrated, about key elements in the nature of work.
These two components—the definition of units and their classification—
compose a standard approach to the understanding of observed phenomena, a
method by which large quantities of information have traditionally been
reduced to manageable proportions. Recently, however, the development of the
computer has introduced new ways of processing information and has raised
questions about the continuing usefulness of the standard approach, at least for
purposes of job placement.
In 1977 the U.S. Employment Service published a new edition of the
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), the latest in a series going back some
40 years. In planning the allocation of its resources for the 1980s, officials of
the U.S. Employment Service decided that the publication of the new edition
provided an appropriate occasion for evaluating the program underlying the
DOT. Specifically, they requested the National Academy of Sciences to review
whether “computerization” obviated the need for such a document in the
operations of the Employment Service; whether there was a wider need for the
information provided; and whether, if the program and its products were
continued, the current procedures and assumptions were adequate or required
substantial revision. The Committee on Occupational Classification and
Analysis was established by the National Research Council's Assembly of
Behavioral and Social Sciences to respond to this request. This report presents
the results of the committee's investigation and the recommendations that arose
from our deliberations.
The committee was very fortunate in being able to persuade Donald J.
Treiman to take leave from the University of California, Los Angeles, in
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PREFACE xxi
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order to be our study director. He supervised and coordinated the project, made
major substantive contributions to the analytic design of the study, and
contributed significantly to the writing throughout the report.
Treiman assembled a very competent staff, to all of whom we are indebted.
The committee was simultaneously conducting a study for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, so there was some division of labor
between the two tasks, but all staff members participated actively in the
discussions and reviews of successive drafts of the report. Pamela S. Cain had
primary responsibility for assembling the material on the procedures used in
creating the DOT and the evaluation of these procedures. Patricia A.Roos was
responsible for conducting the user surveys and analyzing the results, for
describing the use of the DOT within the Employment Service (a task to which
Charles Turner also contributed), and for preparing the materials on the use of
the DOT by other government agencies (a task to which Monica K.Sinding also
contributed). Charles F.Turner prepared preliminary analyses of data on labor
mobility, which served as the basis for discussion of the DOT classification
system. Heidi I.Hartmann contributed to the writing and revision efforts at
many points in the report, particularly the sections on classification and on the
organization of the occupational analysis program. June Price prepared
materials on the research uses of the DOT.
The committee's thanks also go to Eugenia Grohman for her advice and to
Christine L.McShane for her excellent editing of the final draft. Our
administrative secretary, Rose S.Kaufman, with the help of Benita Anderson,
performed crucial services in preparing the manuscripts and in arranging our
meetings with efficiency and dispatch.
All members of the committee reviewed the numerous drafts of the report.
Gary D.Gottfredson and John A.Hartigan were particularly helpful in their
contributions to the material on classification. Ernest J. McCormick's long
experience with the issues involved in job analysis and job placement was
invaluable to our discussions.
ANN R.MILLER, Chair
Committee on Occupational Classification and Analysis
OCR for page R22
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