Description
The Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ) is a measure of an individual's vocational needs and values, which are important aspects of the work personality. It is designed to measure the following six vocational values (and the 20 vocational needs from which the values derive):
Achievement
- Ability Utilization
- Achievement
Altruism
- Co-workers
- Social Service
- Moral Values
Comfort
- Activity
- Independence
- Variety
- Compensation
- Security
- Working Conditions
Safety
- Company Policies and Practices
- Supervision--Human Relations
- Supervision--Technical
Status
- Advancement
- Recognition
- Authority
- Social Status
Autonomy
- Creativity
- Responsibility
The MIQ permits the comparison of the vocational needs of individuals with estimates of reinforcers present in 185 occupations representative of the major fields and levels of the world of work. The correspondence of occupational reinforcers to an individual's needs permits the prediction of job satisfaction. The assessment of need-reinforcer correspondence in work complements the usual practice of measuring vocational abilities and comparing them with the ability requirements of occupations to predict job performance. Early research on the development of the MIQ is reported in the Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation monographs.
Format
The MIQ is a paper-and-pencil inventory of vocational values and needs (preferences for occupational reinforcers). It is appropriate for use with individuals who can read at the fifth-grade level or higher. The MIQ is gender-neutral. It can be administered to groups or to individuals. Instructions for the administration of the MIQ are given in the booklet.
There are two equivalent forms of the MIQ:
- The Paired Form presents pairs of vocational need statements, and the individual indicates the more important need in each pair. The Paired Form may be preferred for individual clients, especially those that would find it easier to deal with one pair of needs at a time. Most people can complete the Paired Form in 30 to 40 minutes. A Spanish language edition of the MIQ paired form is available.
- The Ranked Form presents vocational need statements in groups of five, and the individual ranks the five needs in each group according to their importance. The Ranked Form may be preferable in group settings, or when less time is available. The Ranked Form usually requires 15 to 25 minutes to complete.
Manuals
The MIQ Counselor's Manual provides information necessary for counselor use of the MIQ. It includes information about MIQ format, test administration, sample profiles, interpretations, and strategies for counseling use of the MIQ.
A technical manual that includes more information on the development, reliability, and validity of the MIQ has been published as Monograph XXVIII in the Minnesota Studies in Vocational Rehabilitation series.
MIQ Materials
MIQ Paired Form Booklet (English)
MIQ Paired Form Booklet (Spanish)
Occupational Reinforcer Patterns (1986)
Minnesota Occupational Classification System (MOCS) III (Note: This PDF document is approximately 64 MB)
This volume presents a classification system that is the product of thirty years of research by the Work Adjustment Project. MOCS III classifies 846 benchmark occupations and 923 alternative occupational titles in the form of 131 separate taxons. Occupational membership in a given taxon is determined by the status of the occupation on two dimensions: ability requirements and reinforcer system. The system is capable of classifying all of the occupations in the U. S. Department of Labor Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Additional information embedded in the taxonomy is designed to enrich the amount of desirable and relevant occupational information available to the vocational counselor and the client.