Vishal Sood

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FOR EXPLORING
NON-COGNITIVE SKILLS
Life Skills
 Life skills are vital for holistic development of personality.
 Not a new concept. Other names of life skills as forwarded
by researchers are; social competence, practical
intelligence, emotional intelligence, psychological well-
being. These belong to non-cognitive behaviours, skills and
actions.
 Positive behaviours that include mix of knowledge,
behaviour, attitudes and values.
 Abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour to deal
effectively with demands and challenges of everyday life.
(WHO, 1997)
 According to OECD, life skills are;
1. Key competencies contributing to overall successful life
and well-functioning society.
2. Instrumental to meet challenges in various contexts.
3. Essential for all.
Promoting
sound
mental
Essential health
Facing
for
Improving challenges
performing
skills and
of
competence
leadership ‘Real Life’
functions
Importance Improving
Adapting
to of Life skills motivation,
Developing
social &
situations confidence
emotional &
and self-
competencies
people management
Developing
Developing
social &
mental
emotional
faculties
competencies
Types of Life Skills
Cognitive / Thinking Skills
Non-Cognitive / Affective Skills

Problem
Solving
Skills
Decision Self-
Making Awareness
Skills
Cognitive
Skills
Critical Creative
Thinking Thinking
Skills Skills
Non-Cognitive Skills
• Personal attributes not thought to be measured by

IQ tests or achievement tests.
• These attributes go by many names like; soft skills,
personality traits, character skills, socio-emotional
skills although these names carry different
properties.
• Traits (suggest permanence and are mostly
inherited) and skills (mostly learned) have different
meanings
• Non-cognitive skills can change and can be changed
over the life cycle.
Importance of Non-Cognitive Skills in One’s Profession
Promotes performance on any task
Promotes sound physical and mental health
Beneficial for one’s personal and professional life
These skills are predictive of many other behaviours and wide

range of life outcomes
Especially critical for entry level and hourly workers / employees

As important as Cognitive Skills and Sometimes more
Important than cognitive skills like, achievement, score etc.
Cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills cannot be

separated
Creating a congenial environment in organization
Increased communication with all stakeholders
Improved collaboration with colleagues, administration and

management etc.
Organizational
& Leadership
Self- Skills
Effective
Management,
Responsibility, Communication
Self-
Motivation Confidence,
Sociability
Certain Non-
Cognitive Skills
Coping
Inter-Personal with
Relationships Emotions
and Stress
Self-
Job Esteem,
Satisfaction Attitude Integrity
and
Values
Factors Influencing Non-Cognitive Skills
Social Environment
Schooling and School

Environment
Family Environment
Parental Investment
(Pre-Natal, Post-Natal and
later)
Peer Group
Measurement of Non-Cognitive Skills:
What & How ?
• Measurement or Assessment of Non-Cognitive
Skills : What to do?
• Whether to adopt positivistic or non-positivistic
research approach in this context?
• Is measurement of covert behaviour manifested
in overt behaviour possible and appropriate?
OR Any other Alternative is there for its
measurement?
Techniques for Measuring Non-Cognitive Skills
Observation and Performance

Interviewing on Tasks
Techniques
Psychological Projective
Tests, Scales techniques
etc.
Self-Reported
Survey
Questionnaires and
Observer’ Report
Tools
Task-based
Using
Behaviour and
Psychometric
Performance
Tools
Developing Psychometric Tools for Measurement of
Non-Cognitive Behaviour or Skills
(Example of Employee’ Workplace Stress)
• Observation of Employees’ Behaviour and

Actions.
• Dialogue, Discussion and Interaction with
Employees.
• Using Specialized Procedures by Experts
• Assessment Tools for identifying employees’
stress related behaviours, causing factors,
context of stress and effect of stress.
Causative Factors and Context of Stress
1. Stress as Focus of Assessment Tool.

2. Particular stress causing situations and its contexts
3. Identifying and locating the causing factors of stress.
4. Intensity of stress
Developing Initial Draft of Measurement
Tool for Employee’ Stress
Some Preliminaries
1. Considering the Domain or Focus i.e. Employee’
Stress.
2. Reviewing the Theoretical and Empirical Literature
(Including available research tools or other
instruments on same / similar variables)
3. Identifying the main areas / sub-areas to be
included in measurement tool (dimensions of the
variable or construct under consideration i.e.
employee’ stress).
Certain Other Considerations
1. The nature of the population for
whom the measurement tool is
intended.
2. Available time, resources and
materials.
3. Focus on a single and unidirectional
issue in one statement/item.
Preparing Item Pool
1. Types of Items to be Used (Statement Form or
Question Form)
2. Nature of Response to the Items (Frequency or
Intensity of the non-cognitive behaviour or skill
to be measured)
3. Deciding about the Language of the Items (Hindi
/ English / Regional Language)
4. Deciding about Length of the Measurement Tool.
Nature of Response Pattern
Frequency or Intensity of Response
(behaviour) : See the Examples…….
In case of failure, I lose control over my senses.
Agree Undecided Disagree
Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Never
Hearing about testing of my sales abilities takes me to
deep fearful thoughts.
Agree Undecided Disagree
Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Never
• I feel worried regarding my career promotions.
Completely True
True to Large Extent
True to Some Extent
False to Some Extent
Completely False
• I remain anxious to know my results on an
assigned task.
To a Very Large Extent
To Large Extent
To Some Extent
To Little Extent
To Very Little Extent (Not at All)
Revision and Editing
Language
Content / Cognitive
Technical Interviewing
Types
of
Editing
Small Group Try-Out and Pilot Testing of
Preliminary Draft of Measurement Tool
• To have Clientele (Intended Employees) Point of

View.
• To have an insight about the field complications in

administration of measurement tool.
“Only if Standardization is to be carried out”
Item Analysis
(Ideally with Top 27% and Bottom 27% Groups)
Perception based Tool

# Validity Index / Discrimination Index
Criteria for Selection of Items for Final Draft of
Measurement Tool
Computing Validity Index
(Two Methods)
Highly Valid items or with validity index
of 0.20 and above will be selected.
Compute t-values or check normalized

biserial coefficient for each item.
Correlational Analysis for Item Selection
• Inter-Item Correlation indices

• Correlation between Single Item and Dimensions
of Variable under Consideration i.e. Employee
Stress
• Correlation between Single Item and Total Score
on All Items
For Dimension Identification and Dimension
Reduction, We Can employ Factor Analysis
technique.
Methods of Estimating Reliability of
Measurement Tool
• Test-Retest Method. (Stability over time)

• Split-half Method. (Internal Consistency)
• Equivalence or Parallel Forms Method.
(Internal Consistency).
• Kuder-Richardson 21 Formula. (Internal
Consistency)
Ascertaining Validity of Measurement Tool
 Content Validity
 Intrinsic Validity
 Face Validity
 Cross Validity
 Item Validity
 Criterion-related
Validity
 Construct Validity
Issues in Measurement of Non-Cognitive Skills
• Dynamism in non-cognitive behaviour and skills
which are subject to change overtime.
• Perfection in measurement of non-cognitive skills
with accuracy is questionable?
• Psychological tools are context-specific and based on
perceptions.
• It is much difficult to conceptualize all the aspects,
dimensions of non-cognitive characteristic under
consideration for measurement. So, developing a
perfect tool for its measurement is a challenge.
• Only a general idea or an overview of such non-
cognitive skill possessed by individual can be
obtained for undertaking any further intervention.
• Reference Bias in answering to psychological testing.
Improving Assessment of Non-Cognitive Skills ???
• Self-reported surveys/ratings/questionnaires can be biased.

Observer’s reports / ratings may have discrepancies.
• Measuring non-cognitive skills through performance on tasks can
have two issues or depend upon two issues:
- Firstly, while doing a task, incentives created by situations will
decide future efforts to be made.
- Secondly, performance on task will not merely depend on a
particular skill (to be measured) but it depends upon multiple skills.
Hence, difficult to measure a particular non-cognitive skill.
• Culture-fair, culture-free tools be prepared to have an estimate of

non-cognitive skills.
• Items in the tool conveying / including common situations that
can be interpreted and answered by all should be included.
Developing Non-Cognitive Skills
• Non-Cognitive skills can be acquired and
enhanced.
• A proper understanding of causes and
consequences of lack of required non-cognitive
skills is necessary.
• Proper need assessment is essential to carry out
any measurement and any further intervention.
Coaching/
Special
Training
Internships /
Mentoring Apprenticeships
Certain
Interventions
for Developing
Non-Cognitive
Greater Use of
Skills
Activities and Leisure
Motivational Activities
Efforts
Career Guidance
and Counseling
Developing Non-Cognitive Skills:
Expectations from Mentors / Superiors
• Think about…… “How to make organizational
environment active, interesting, enthusiastic,
participatory and stress free for the employees?”
• Be ever responsive to employees’ problems, needs
and developing an emotional relationship with them.
• Be Warm, Caring, Supportive, Resourceful and
Enthusiastic.
• Be competent enough to guide and counsel
employees effectively.
• Have adequate knowledge about psychology,
employee needs etc.
• Be positive role models for your
subordinates/disciples.
THANK YOU
ALL

Vishal Sood

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH FOR EXPLORING

Non-Cognitive / Affective Skills

• Personal attributes not thought to be measured by

Promotes performance on any task

Promotes sound physical and mental health

Beneficial for one’s personal and professional life

These skills are predictive of many other behaviours and wide

Especially critical for entry level and hourly workers / employees

Cognitive skills and non-cognitive skills cannot be

Creating a congenial environment in organization

Increased communication with all stakeholders

Improved collaboration with colleagues, administration and

Schooling and School

Observation and Performance

• Observation of Employees’ Behaviour and

1. Stress as Focus of Assessment Tool.

• To have Clientele (Intended Employees) Point of

• To have an insight about the field complications in

Perception based Tool

Compute t-values or check normalized

• Inter-Item Correlation indices

• Test-Retest Method. (Stability over time)

• Self-reported surveys/ratings/questionnaires can be biased.

• Culture-fair, culture-free tools be prepared to have an estimate of

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