Implications of Methodological Advances for the Practice of Personnel Selection: How Practitioners Benefit from Meta-analysis

Abstract

We discuss how meta-analysis, a method for synthesizing research findings, can meaningfully impact personnel selection practices. Specifically, we review important changes in professional and legal practices from the past 30 years resulting from meta-analytic findings. The implications of using meta-analysis methods for evaluating utilities of selection procedures and for assessing relative predictive capabilities of three popular selection tools (general mental ability tests, personality tests, and structured interviews) are further discussed. Based on these implications, we propose that meta-analysis can play an important role in bridging the gap between academic research and organizational practices.