Scoring occupational categories for social research: A review of current practice, with Australian examples

The scoring of occupational categories has along history. After reviewing t he historical background, we develop and discuss the properties of two new Australian scales based on current theorising in stratification research. T he first is based on the operation of the labour market and scores occupati ons to reflect their central role in converting educational credentials int o market income. The second is based on patterns of social interaction and scores occupations to reflect the choices that people make in marriage mark ets. While these two scales are not theoretically or empirically equivalent , they are closely related and provide equally valid, but alternative, ways of measuring the underlying stratification order of modern societies.