Part V: creating the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 2.0
UK and Ireland Norms
What is a Professional Norm?
Sometimes you or your client may want a more specific comparison. For instance, you may want to compare your client to other similar individuals, such as other professionals. The Professional Norm enables you to do just that: it allows you to compare your client’s score to professionals in UK and Ireland rather than to the average person from UK and Ireland.
Similar to the UK and Ireland General Population Norm, there is both a UK and Ireland Overall Professional Norm, and a UK and Ireland Professional Norm that is broken down into Age and Gender Specific norm groups. If you use the Overall norm, the normative comparison will not be affected by the individual’s age or gender (for example, a 58-year-old male will be compared to all professionals in the UK and Ireland Professional Norm sample regardless of their age or gender). If you use the Age and Gender Specific norm, then the comparison will be made only to UK and Ireland professionals of the same gender and age group (for example, a 58-year-old male will only be compared to males from UK and Ireland who are 50–59 years of age).
Again, there are sound reasons for using either of these options, and the choice ultimately belongs with the preference of each consultant. Some consultants prefer not to use the age and gender specific norms so that everyone is scored against the same norm values (Overall Professional Norm). On the other hand, other consultants like the specificity of comparing individuals directly to those that are most similar in terms of age and gender (Age and Gender Specific Professional Norm).