The effect of method variance on relationships between the work ethic and individual difference variables

A great deal of research relating the work ethic to other individual differ ence variables has been conducted using questionnaires to measure all the v ariables. Many researchers believe that using a single method of measuremen t for multiple constructs results in artificially inflated correlations. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the work ethic, locus of control, and consc ientiousness reveals that approximately 16% of the variance in measures of these constructs is a function of the method of measurement. This suggests that correlations in work ethic research based on only one method of measur ement may be overstated.