| A review of the socialization literature exposed a variety of problems with past measures of socialization. Hence, the objective of this research was to develop a measure of newcomer socialization and provide evidence of construct validity. Three studies were conducted. In Study 1, a content validation program was undertaken using three separate groups of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). Study 2 and Study 3 examined the psychometric properties of the newly developed scale, the Newcomer Socialization Questionnaire (NSQ). Whereas Study 2 used a student population, Study 3 used actual new hires in a variety of organizations. Factor analysis supported the hypothesized three-factor newcomer socialization model in Study 2, but was less supportive of the model in Study 3. Support for convergent/discriminant validity was somewhat less than anticipated. However, internal consistency and stability coefficients for the instrument were strong, and significant relationships were found between the measure and variables hypothesized to be related to socialization. Directions for future research are also presented. |
