U5

1 Capella Proprietary and Confidential Last updated: 4/7/2019 6:58 PM

Quantitative Study Example Project

What follows is a hypothetical quantitative study that you can use to set up your U05a1 assignment. The variable data from this example are from an actual study, but the names of participants and variables have been changed. In all other respects, the description is accurate. For this example, imagine that you are researcher who often consults with small to medium size manufacturing companies in Northwest Ohio who make auto parts for the large auto manufacturing companies. You have noticed concern among your clients about the turnover of their line factory workers. In the last year for which data were available (2017) it was determined that the average annual population of motor vehicles manufacturing employees in the State of Ohio during calendar 2017 was 19,600 employees (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018), of which about 30% were estimated to be factory line workers or 5,880 workers. A list can be obtained of these employees through a provider of data lists. You decide to conduct a study to investigate what independent variables might be valuable in predicting employees’ likelihood of leaving their jobs. Suppose that you have reviewed the research literature on the subject and identified a construct called “turnover intention” and found a scale called the Turnover Intention scale that might be used to measure and predict how likely employees are to terminate their employment. Constructs are often explanatory variables that cannot be directly observed. For example, one cannot “see” a turnover intention, but these intentions can be quantified using a survey instrument. This literature review also identified two other constructs that might have value in predicting what employees’ turnover intentions might be. One of these variables is job mastery, a survey instrument scale that measures how well employees believe that they have mastered the skills involved in their jobs. A scale called the Job Mastery scale exists that would allow you to measure this construct. Another variable you identify is a survey instrument used to measure a person’s control of her state, called the Impulse Control scale. You decide to conduct a study of employees who work as line factory employees of the auto industry in Ohio. You want your study to look at how well the two variables, Job Mastery and Impulse Control, will predict Turnover Intentions. In doing so, you are aware that it is also important to pay attention to the direction of the effects. That is, whether there is a direct effect (an increase in the independent variable leads to an increase in the dependent variable) or an inverse effect (an increase in the independent variable leads to an increase in the dependent variable).