SHL awards top students with MSc project prize

SHL, the psychometric testing company, has recognised the best occupational psychology students with its MSc Research Project Prize, awarded at this yearís Division of Occupational Psychology Conference. The first prize was shared by Anne Herrmann from the University of Lueneburg, Germany, and Louise Burgess from the University of Manchester. Third prize was awarded to Rene Immanuel Kusch from the University of Mannheim, Germany.

The MSc Research Programme is an initiative designed by SHL to unite commercial occupational psychology practice with academic endeavour. It aims to support and encourage students conducting research into psychometric testing and forge lasting relationships with the worldís most promising students.

To be considered for the prize, Masters of Occupational Psychology were asked to fulfil a six-month practical research project making use of at least one SHL product and showing advanced understanding of that product. Final projects were then judged on a number of criteria including innovation, scientific rigour, quality of the methodology and contribution to the work of SHLís Research programme. The judging panel was made up of Professor Dave Bartram, Research Director at SHL, Emeritus Professor Peter Warr at the Institute for Work Psychology, University of Sheffield, and members of the SHL Research team.

Dave Bartram commented: ìSHL is always looking for ways to support and build its relationship with the academic world. The MSc project prize is a way of doing so whilst rewarding those exceptional students who are the future of occupational psychology, whether academically or commercially.

ìAll three winners produced fantastic research projects, demonstrating original and innovative thinking. They all show enormous potential and will undoubtedly pursue hugely successful careers in the field.î

Joint first prize winner, Anne Herrmann, was recognised for her paper, ìHow not to get lost in translation: The adaptation of the English OPQ32n into German ñ An applied comparison between ordinal logistic regression and an analysis under the Generalized Partial Credit Model on detecting Differential Item Functioningî, whilst Louise Burgess based her research on ìThe Effects of Person-Job Fit, Needs and Supplies on

Attitudes, Intentions and Behaviours at Workî. Rene Immanuel Kusch was awarded the third prize for his paper, ìExpatriatesí Personality: The relationships between Occupational Personality (OPQ32i) and the Five-Factor-Model (NEO-PI-R)î.