Overview

Purpose: To assess vocational interests.

For: Ranging from low average ability upwards.

Length: Untimed (usually 10 to 30 minutes).

Format: Pen and paper.

Materials: Professional manual, occupations listing, questionnaire booklet, client profile sheet.

The OSI-3 is a direct derivative from the OSI-1. Psychometric investigation suggested that the OSI-1 could be shortened and that the Work Environment scale provided such useful data that it should be given more weighting in the scoring and interpretation of the OSI.

The OSI-3 is a more parsimonious measure of vocational interests than the OSI-1. The OSI-3 complements the OSI-2 by being appropriate for a wide population range from low average ability upwards. It is very useful with final year high school and university students seeking career direction.

The OSI-3 was revised in 2001 and a Leisure Interests domain has now been included to provide a more comprehensive coverage of individuals' interests.

In completing the questionnaire test takers are asked to rate five categories - work tasks, work environments, leisure activities, occupational preferences and work skills.

Eight broad interest categories are assessed across these four work related categories:

1. Technological
2. Nature
3. Scientific
4. Culture
5. Entertainment
6. Helping
7. Persuasive
8. Organising

Obtained scores are used to generate an OSI Code which is then related to equivalent occupations with similar codes. In this way a variety of occupational options can be listed for the test taker to consider.

Research findings suggest that the OSI-3 is both a reliable and valid measure of vocational interests.

The materials provided cover the theoretical basis of the questionnaire, technical data, illustrative case studies, a comprehensive listing of occupations and detailed descriptions of the dimensions measured for interpretation purposes.