The internet and the strong interest inventory: Client's understanding of results both with and without a counselor's interpretation

Abstract

The Internet is a tool that enables individuals to attain valuable information about the world. This mechanism has exponentially boomed into what the Internet is today. Individuals can find practically anything they want on the Internet. Convenience and accessibility to all individuals has caught government officials unsuspecting of the rapid growth, and there are relatively few laws regulating the Internet.

Organizations are using the Internet to globally expand their business over night. Vocational testing has become an increasing field on the Internet. Individuals that need to make vocational decisions or considering changing careers are looking to the Internet for the answers. The Strong Interest Inventory is one of the thousands of inventories available online.

This research focuses on the understanding of the Strong Interest Inventory results. A mock simulation is created to compare how individuals understand their personal results on the inventory. Control group participants received their results in a typical career-counseling mode, with the individuals and a counselor reviewing the results and questions were answered about the results. The experimental participants, however, received their results and no interpretation from a counselor. The participants for the study were students at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS.

The findings support the past research in that individuals do find it helpful for a counselor interpretation of their inventory results, but the findings are not significant. Various topics are considered in the discussion section to lead to a clearer understanding of the results.