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The O*Net Jobs Classification System: A Primer for Family Researchers
Author(s) -
Crouter Ann C.,
Lanza Stephanie T.,
Pirretti Amy,
Goodman W. Benjamin,
Neebe Eloise
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
family relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1741-3729
pISSN - 0197-6664
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00415.x
Subject(s) - physical hazard , scale (ratio) , construct (python library) , work (physics) , coding (social sciences) , construct validity , psychology , net income , data collection , family income , gerontology , applied psychology , computer science , business , occupational safety and health , developmental psychology , engineering , sociology , medicine , geography , economics , economic growth , psychometrics , social science , finance , pathology , programming language , mechanical engineering , cartography
We introduce family researchers to the Occupational Information Network, or O*Net, an electronic database on the work characteristics of over 950 occupations. The paper here is a practical primer that covers data collection, selecting occupational characteristics, coding occupations, scale creation, and construct validity, with empirical illustrations from the Family Life Project, a study of almost 1,300 families with infants born in 6 low‐income, nonmetro counties in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. We factor analyzed parents’ occupations on 35 O*Net characteristics and identified 5 factors: occupational self‐direction, physical hazards, physical activity, care work, and automation/repetition, variables that supplement data collected from parents directly. Applied researchers can use the O*Net to expand their knowledge of participants’ work circumstances with objective data.