Analysis and Objective of the Questionnaire

The Self-Directed Search (SDS-216) Career Planning Form was developed by Holland, Fritzsche, and Powell (1997) and is based on John Holland’s theory. The purpose of creating this questionnaire is to provide guidance to workers regarding long-term career planning and development, as well as to offer professional assessment and career guidance for individuals who are employed and in a transitional phase of their career.

Scoring of the Questions

The questionnaire consists of 216 statements and includes three main scales, each subdivided into six subscales. These three main scales are: activities, abilities, and occupations. Responses to the 216 statements are given through a binary choice of “Yes” or “No”.

Statistical Analysis

Regarding the statistical analysis of the questionnaire, a Holland code is derived for each individual, based on the combination of scores from the subscales and the three main scales. For each subscale, the score is calculated based on the affirmative responses from the participant.

Validity and Reliability

The questionnaire has been translated and adapted for the Greek sample by Dimitriadou and Stalikas. The translation was done using the method of back-translation and shows satisfactory linguistic equivalence with the original. Furthermore, the questionnaire demonstrates good internal consistency reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.69 to 0.91.

References

Holland, J. L., Fritzsche, B. A., & Powell, A. B. (1994). Self-Directed Search technical user’s guide. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources
Adaptation to Greek: Dimitriadou, D., and Stalikas, A., Fritzsche, B. A., and Powell, A. B.