Independent Research Studies 

A recent independent study by the University of Western Sydney, "The Instinctive Drives® system: A reliable and valid catalyst for improving team performance" showed the I.D. System® to be a clear industry leader amongst the top tools and leadership methodologies in the market today, from a validity, application and effectiveness viewpoint. 

The I.D. System®: An improved way to enhance  team performance in the workplace
Conference Paper - Australian Business and Behavioural Sciences Association Annual Conference 2006.
This finding has important implications for business and behavioural sciences; it indicates that, despite the controversy that surrounds research into human instinct, it is possible to understand Instinctive Drives™, enhance the interplay of these drives within workplace teams, and, subsequently, improve team performance.

Development, reliability and validity

The Development of the I.D. System® explains the thought processes and takes you through the very questions Paul Burgess was asking as he sought an answer to what makes people tick. This document covers the development of the I.D. System from a blank sheet of paper to what it is today.

The Reliability and Validity of the I.D. System®  explains the steps involved in constructing and validating the I.D. questionnaire as you know it today. This document includes an explanation of the initial and ongoing sampling procedures undertaken to ensure validity and reliability.

  The Instinctive Drives® and Occupational Stress

The survey might be valid and reliable, but what can the I.D. System® offer the workplace? The short answer is improved employee wellbeing. Findings from a subsequent study, Can the Instinctive Drives System™ facilitate the management of occupational stress? , indicate that the I.D. System® can give employees a better understanding of themselves and their colleagues; facilitate improved communication and workplace morale; and enhance sense of wellbeing. As one individual explained:

Because of who I am, I get quite disruptive if I’m in a meeting for more than an hour… This is stressful to everyone. With the I.D.™, I now have restructured my schedules. I only have formal meetings in the mornings. These I come to with a formal agenda. For other board members with similar profiles to me, I meet in an informal setting; we go out, we grab a coffee. Things are a lot better now.

Not only were the findings suggested by people who were interviewed, but the findings were also demonstrated by additional scales used to measure wellbeing. More specifically, the researchers found that increased awareness of innate drives was associated with both improved perceptions of health, and reductions in perceived stress.

Anneke Fitzgerald (PhD), who conducted the UWS research into I.D.™, has this to say:

In my work with psychometric test research in the field of organisational behaviour, I have not seen anything get so quickly to the core of what makes someone tick.  In my observation, when applying the I.D. System to students and industry participants, the I.D. helps people to really get to know each other. 

I see it as an extremely useful as a tool and process that quickly  helps you understand the core of the human being - much deeper than any other aspect of personality or behaviour.

Frankly, whilst researching reliability, validity and effects of the I.D., I remain surprised by the reported accuracy and the significance of the I.D. The most stunning and revolutionary thing to me is that, strong validity exists for the system as a whole, not just the profiling tool. It is extremely clever in that it goes beyond any other tool that I’ve seen to truly be an integrated system of diagnostic profile and practical proven strategies with holistic applications (in both the business and personal arenas).