Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
THM 2112
Sophomore Research Seminar
WHERE WE ARE
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Paper Structure
Literature
Title page Abstract Introduction Review
(Relevancy)
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Theoretical Framework
Theoretical Framework
Basic steps – Variables and model:
1. Definitions: Clearly define and label the variables used
in the study
2. Conceptual model: State the relationships among the
variables.
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Conceptual model
– Based on good theory. Theories explain
relationships between variables.
– Theory provides flow of relationships between
variables.
– Hypotheses developed upon a sound
conceptual model.
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Variable
Any concept or construct that varies or changes in
value
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(In)dependent Variables
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IV/DV Example
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IVs DV
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Exercises
Work with the person next to you:
1. The manager wants to increase the performance of employees
at one branch. What is the DV?
2. A marketing manager believes that limiting the availability of a
product increases product desirability. What is the DV?
For the next 2 exercises identify the variables and is their label (IV
or DV). Provide a reason. How does the diagram look like?
3. A manager believes that good supervision and training will
increase the production level of all employees. What are the
variables and what is their label (IV or DV) and why? How does
the diagram look like?
4. A marketing manager believes that selecting physically
attractive spokespersons and models to endorse their services
increases the persuasiveness of a message.
Moderators
Moderating variable
Moderator is qualitative
(e.g., gender, race, class)
or quantitative (e.g., level
of reward) variable that
affects the direction and/or
strength of relation
between independent and
dependent variable.
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Moderators
IV
DV IV DV
IVs MoV DV
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Exercises
Work with the person next to you. List and label the variables.
Explain and illustrate (drawing) the relationships among the
variables.
1. A manager finds that off-the-job classroom training has a great
impact on the productivity of the employees in her department.
However, she also observes that employees over 60 years of
age do not seem to drive much benefit and do not improve with
such training.
2. A manager finds that the intensity of eBusiness adoption is
positively associated with sales performance. What’s more,
when market uncertainty (the rate of change in the composition
of customers and their preferences) is high, this positive effect
is strengthened.
Mediating Variable
Mediating variable
– Surfaces between the time the independent variables start
operating to influence the dependent variable and the time their
impact is felt on it.
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IVs MeV DV
IV DV
MeV
IV DV
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Exercises
Work with the person next to you:
1. Make up three different situations in which motivation to work
would be an independent, mediating and a moderating variable.
2. Failure to follow accounting principles causes immense
confusion, which in turn creates a number of problems for the
organization. Those with vast experience in bookkeeping,
however, are able to avert the problems by taking timely
corrective action. List and label the variables in this situation,
explain the relationships among the variables, and draw a
diagram.
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Exercise
Work with the person next to you:
1. The manager of Haines Company observes that the morale of
employees in her company is low. She thinks that if their
working conditions are improved, pay scales are raised, and
the vacation benefits made attractive, the morale will be
boosted. She doubts, however, if an increase in pay scale
would raise the morale of all employees. Her conjecture is that
those that have supplemental incomes will just not be “turned
on” by higher pay, and only those without side incomes will be
happy with increased pay with a resultant boost in morale. List
and label the variables in this situation. Explain the relationship
among the variables and draw the diagram. What might be the
problem statement or problem definition for the situation.
Exercise
Work with the person next to you:
The probability of cancer victims successfully recovering under
treatment was studied by a medical researcher in a hospital.
She found three variables to be important for recovery:
– Early and correct diagnosis
– Nurse’s careful follow-up of the doctor’s instructions
– Peace and quiet in the vicinity
In a quiet atmosphere, the patient rested well and recovered
sooner. Patients who were admitted in advanced stages of
cancer did not respond to treatment even tough the doctor’s
diagnosis was performed immediately on arrival, the nurses did
their best, and there was plenty of peace and quite in the area.
Devine the problem and develop the theoretical framework for
this situation.
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Exercise
This model tries to explain customer loyalty.
Identify IV, DV, MoV and MeV
Draft the research statement
Exercise
Identify IV, DV, MoV and MeV
What is the special case here?
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Exercise
The following exercises are derived from Affective Events Theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996).
1. In the figure below, are dispositions a moderating or a mediating variable?
2. In the figure below, are affective reactions a moderating or a mediating variable?
Exercise
This model tries to explain drivers of website usability and buying from
the website (behavioral intention). Furthermore, the model tries to
explain if there are differences between men (H) and women (F).
Identify IV, DV, MoV and MeV
Draft the research statement
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Exercise
This model tries to explain user satisfaction when using a
specific software system (e.g. hotel management system).
Identify IV, DV, MoV and MeV
Draft the research statement
HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT
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Hypothesis
After we explained the relationships between variables
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Hypothesis
A proposition (statement) that is empirically testable and
concerned with the relationship among variables to predict
what you expect to find in your empirical data.
Good hypothesis:
– Must be adequate for its purpose
– Must be testable
– Must be better than its rivals
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Hypothesis
A hypothesis tests whether there are differences between
two groups (or among several groups) with respect to any
variable(s).
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Hypothesis
Directional hypotheses
– Positive/negative relationship
– More than/less than
Non-directional hypotheses
– No indication of direction
– Not used often
– Used when we have conflicting findings or now knowledge about the
relationship
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Hypothesis
Directional hypotheses
– Positive/negative relationship
– More than/less than
Non-directional hypotheses
– No indication of direction
– Not used often
– Used when we have conflicting findings or now knowledge about the
relationship
Hypothesis
Following the hypothetico-deductive method hypotheses need to be
falsifiable. Hence, we need to write them in such a way that other
researchs can show them to be false.
Null hypothesis H0
– Set to be rejected in order to support an alternate hypothesis (HA)
– Presumed true until statistical evidence (test) suggests otherwise.
– Typically expressed in terms of their being no (significant) relationship
between two variables or no (significant) difference between two groups.
– Usually not shown in a paper.
Alternate hypothesis HA
– Expresses relationship between two variables or indicates differences
between two groups.
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Nondirected: There is a difference between the work ethic values of American and
Asian employees.
H0: μAM = μAS or μAM – μAS = 0
HA: μAM ≠ μAS
The greater the stress experienced in the job, the lower the job satisfaction of
employees. Null would be no relationship, i.e. no correlation.
H0: ρ = 0
HA: ρ < 0 (negative correlation)
Exercise
Work with the person next to you and develop 5 hypotheses for
this scenario:
The manager of Haines Company observes that the morale of
employees in her company is low. She thinks that if their
working conditions are improved, pay scales are raised, and
the vacation benefits made attractive, the morale will be
boosted. She doubts, however, if an increase in pay scale
would raise the morale of all employees. Her conjecture is that
those that have supplemental incomes will just not be “turned
on” by higher pay, and only those without side incomes will be
happy with increased pay with a resultant boost in morale.
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Exercise
Work with the person next to you and develop 5 hypotheses for
this scenario:
A production manager is concerned about the low output levels of his
employees. The articles that he has read on job performance frequently
mention four variables as being important to job performance: skill required for
the job, rewards, motivation, and satisfaction. In several of the articles it was
also indicated that only if the rewards were valent (attractive) to the recipients
did motivation, satisfaction, and job performance increase, not otherwise.
Given this situation:
Define the problem
Evolve a theoretical framework
Develop at least six hypotheses
Exercise
Discuss the following statements with your neighbor:
1. Because literature survey is a time-consuming exercise, a good, in-depth
interview should suffice to develop a theoretical framework. Discuss this
statement.
2. Good models are complex. What’s more, a good model should include both
moderating and mediating variables. Discuss this statement.
3. Academic researchers usually develop more complex and elaborate models
than applied researchers. Discuss this statement.
4. In an applied research context you do not need to explain the relationships
between the variables in your conceptual model. Discuss this statement.
5. There is an advantage to stating the hypothesis both in the null and the
alternate; it adds clarity to our thinking about what we are testing. Explain.
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Continued…
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