Abstract

Since the 1940s the measurement of occupational structures has attracted the attention of many social scientists. In Italy the most recent national survey aiming at the construction of an occupational stratification scale was carried out by De Lillo and Schizzerotto in 1985. The changed configuration of the Italian occupational structure over recent years, which stems from a shift in the production system towards jobs in the service sector and with a high technological content, could have influenced the social image of occupational stratification and therefore the validity of the scale. Actually, the results of the survey carried out by "Corriere Lavoro" and the University of Milano-Bicocca show that individuals' evaluations of occupational hierarchies have remained substantially constant. So, 15 years later, the De Lillo-Schizzerotto scale is still a valid measuring instrument of the social desirability (and, in a broad sense, the prestige) attributed to different jobs in Italy. By analysing this Internet survey we had the opportunity to reflect upon the possibility of using on-line technology to carry out reliable empirical quantitative research. Even though Internet is at an initial stage of development and many obstacles have to be overcome in order to optimise data collection techniques, this survey confirms that the use of Internet can be successful in scientific contexts.