An auxiliary classification with work activity descriptions for occupation coding

Abstract

Occupational classifications are structured by the type of work that employees perform. Consequently, German surveys ask employees about the work they perform in order to collect information about occupation. Although the question is tailored to this classification principle, category definitions describing the work are infrequently used for coding. Instead, coding is more indirect as coders often select job titles from a separate coding index. Since many job titles are imprecise and do not sufficiently describe the work actually performed, incorrect assignments may occur. As an alternative, we introduce an auxiliary classification describing work activities, useful for computer-assisted coding and publicly available on-line. It allows coders to select the most appropriate work activity without using imprecise job titles for coding. The new auxiliary classification is based on both the 2010 German Classification of Occupations and the 2008 International Standard Classification of Occupations and allows simultaneous coding to both classifications. The greatest benefits are realized if detailed knowledge about the respondents' work activities is available. Therefore, the auxiliary classification is most useful if respondents themselves can select the most appropriate work activity from it.

Cite article

Schierholz, M. (2018): Eine Hilfsklassifikation mit Tätigkeitsbeschreibungen für Zwecke der Berufskodierung. In: Wirtschafts- und Sozialstatistisches Archiv, Vol. 12, No. 3-4, p. 285-298. DOI:10.1007/s11943-018-0231-2