Part V: creating the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 2.0
North American Professional Norms
What is a Professional Norm?
In 2011, the EQ-i 2.0 was released with a General Population Norm, with a sample consisting of 4,000 people who closely represented the North American population at that point in time. In the same year, the EQ 360 2.0 was released with a North American General Population Norm sample (to determine the scores for each rater) consisting of 3,200 individuals. (Please refer to Standardization, Reliability, and Validity for more details about each normative sample.) This General Population Norm group is used to compare your client’s ratings to the average North American, and is representative of the age, gender, ethnicity, and education compositions of North America (in 2011). In essence, using the General Population Norm to compare your client’s ratings to the average person's ratings allows you to make the broadest comparison possible. This norm would include both working and non-working individuals, people with high and low education levels, etc.
Sometimes you or your client may want a more specific comparison. For instance, you may want to compare your client’s ratings to other similar individuals, such as other professionals. Each Professional Norm enables you to do just that; it allows you to compare your client’s ratings to ratings of professionals, rather than to individuals in the general population normative sample.
The Professional Norm does not replace the General Population Norm, but is another option you may select when generating your EQ-i 2.0 or EQ 360 2.0 reports.