Corrections for range restriction in structured interview ethnic group differences: the values may be larger than researchers thought

Previous studies of standardized ethnic group differences in the employment interview have shown differences to be relatively small. Unfortunately, many researchers conducting interview studies have not considered the issue of range restriction in research design. This omission is likely to lead to underestimates of standardized ethnic group differences (d) when the interview is considered as an initial screening device or used in combination with other initial screening devices. The authors found that 2 forms of a behavioral interview were associated with standardized ethnic group differences of .36 and .56 when corrected for range restriction. These differences are substantially larger than previously thought and demonstrate the importance of considering a variety of study design characteristics in obtaining the appropriate parameter estimates.