ABSTRACT
Biodata research has evolved over 90 years. The first published study, Goldsmith (1922) examined the ability of nine “personal history” items to predict the first-year sales of insurance agents. She found that using a person’s data score would improve the hiring decisions made. Specifically, 58 of the 259 individuals (22%) receiving a score 4 or above were considered successful (first-year sales was dichotomized in order to allow for expectancy charts to be constructed). In contrast, 11 of 243 individuals (4%) receiving a score less than 4 were considered successful.
