Technical Manual

The Birkman Manual is a comprehensive description and explanation of The Birkman Method®. The Manual documents the theoretical background, reliability and validity evidence, and psychometric properties of The Birkman Method®. The history, application, interpretation, and report formats of The Birkman Method® are also provided.

The major sections of the Manual with their respective chapters are: A) Introduction/History, B) Guide to Using the Manual, C) History of Birkman International, D) Development of Instrument, E) Theoretical Background, F) Self and Other Perceptions, G) Five Factor Model of Personality, H) Occupational Interests, I) Psychometric Properties, J) Classical and IRT Item and Scale Analyses, K) Administration and Interpretation, L) Application and Interpretation, and M) Norms and Translations.

Section II (Theoretical Background) describes multiple theories of social perception, personality, and occupational interests. This section explains how these theories were integrated and operationalized in The Birkman Method®. Chapter 4 explains the initial and continued theoretical support for the "self" and "most" people questionnaire design. Chapter 5 demonstrates how The Birkman Method® aligns with the Five Factor Model of personality used by the majority of personality researchers and practitioners today. Chapter 6 substantiates the approach to assessing Interests based on direct comparisons to similar instruments.

Section III (Psychometric Properties) describes the validity and reliability of The Birkman Method®, the application of Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) to the development and characteristics of the original and revised instrument, the alignment with the Five Factor Model of personality, and how The Birkman Method® aligns with other psychological and sociological instruments. Chapter 7 describes the construction of the factor and subfactor scales, as well as the CTT and IRT properties of the instrument. Chapters 8 and 9 cover reliability and validity, respectively, including comparisons of The Birkman Method® to other assessments. Together, these chapters demonstrate that Birkman Method® has rigorous psychometric properties for use in the non-clinical context.