NCJ Number
55127
Date Published
1977
Length
19 pages
Annotation
THIS REPORT DESCRIBES STATISTICAL METHODS USED ON SURVEY DATA GATHERED FROM SHERIFF DEPARTMENT SUPERVISORS ON DEPUTY TRAINING TASKS TO DETERMINE PRIORITIES FOR THESE TASKS.
Abstract
IN THE EARLIER STUDY, QUESTIONNAIRES WERE SENT TO 26 SUPERVISORS FROM VARIOUS COUNTIES OF TEXAS ASKING THEM TO USE A SPECIALLY DESIGNED LIKERT SCALE TO ESTIMATE THE PRIORITY OF TRAINING TASKS FOR DEPUTIES. A SECOND GROUP OF SUPERVISORS WERE ASKED TO USE THREE RATING SCALES TO IDENTIFY THE IMPORTANCE OF VARIOUS TASKS DEPUTIES MUST PERFORM. TO DETERMINE THE NECESSARY CONTENT OF A STATE-WIDE TRAINING PROGRAM, RESEARCHERS COMPUTED THE STATISTICAL CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO SETS OF RANKINGS AND A SET OF RANKINGS SUPPLIED BY INSTRUCTORS AND COMMAND OFFICERS. THE REGRESSION MODEL PROVIDED A GOOD APPROXIMATION OF THE MATHEMATICAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE DATA UNDER STUDY AND HELPED TO DEMONSTRATE THAT JOB SUPERVISORS (THE ULTIMATE USERS OF BASIC TRAINING ACTIVITY) WERE SYSTEMATIC IN MAKING DECISIONS ON TRAINING PRIORITIES. HOWEVER, IT ALSO SHOWED THAT INSTRUCTORS AND COMMAND OFFICERS DISAGREED ON TRAINING PRIORITIES ON A NUMBER OF TASKS. RATINGS BY INSTRUCTORS WERE NOT AS HIGHLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS OF SUPERVISORS AS WERE RATINGS BY COMMAND OFFICERS. THIS DATA CONVINCED INSTRUCTORS THAT MORE UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION WAS NEEDED FROM THE JOB SITE. TABLES GIVE DETAILED RATINGS FOR 18 OF THE TOP-RANKED DUTIES, STUDY DATA, THE CORRELATION MATRIX, AND SHOW THE 35 TASKS ESTIMATED AS HAVING HIGHEST PRIORITY IN A BASIC TRAINING PROGRAM FOR SHERIFFS' DEPUTIES. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (GLR)