The purpose of the study
Equity in the academic labor market has been a subject of in-depth sociological research. The findings of the different studies indicate that a person’s progress can be dependent on such factors as gender and race (Glazer-Raymo, 2001, p 39; Umbach, 2006). The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of gender on a teacher’s perceptions of the compensations he/she receives, the level of organizational support, and opportunities for career advancement. The second task is to understand how academic discipline can affect the progress of an educator. A personal in-home survey will be selected as the main methods of data collection. They will be asked questions about the workload, compensation, and opportunities for career advancement. This research design has been chosen because it enables to better capture the attitudes and opinions of the respondents. Furthermore, among its advantages, one can single out a better turnaround in data collection (Cresswell, 2003, p 154). This study will be cross-sectional which means that it is aimed at observing a population at a certain moment. The key benefit of this approach is its relative time-efficiency.
Methods of data collection
In the course of this study, approximately 100 respondents will be interviewed. This sample size ensures an appropriate confidence level. The sample was determined based on the whole population size. The respondents will be stratified into two equal groups: 1) male educators and 2) female educators. These people will represent different academic disciplines. Each of the participants for this study will be randomly selected, this is essential for the avoidance of bias. These people will be asked a specific question about the degree of their satisfaction with the compensation package, the level of organizational support, workload, and promotion opportunities. The questionnaire will be developed independently. This research has to be carried out within 20 days. Moreover, we should allow some time for the pilot study, in the course of which a smaller number of respondents (20 people) will be surveyed. This will enable us to see whether the research design has any deficiencies.
Population and sampling
Thus the study will have two independent variables (gender and academic discipline) and a set of dependent ones: 1) satisfaction with compensation policies; 2) the level of organizational support; 3) workload; 4) promotion. The questionnaire will contain a set of Likert scale items that prompt a person to describe his/her attitude toward remuneration and workload in the organization, the degree to which administration supports him/her, and his/her perceptions of career opportunities.
Timelines for the study
Several statistical tests will be applied to analyze data, collected in the course of the study. First, Cronbach’s alpha will be used to measure the reliability of the scale, developed for the research. This test will be conducted after the pilot study. Cronbach’s alpha focuses on the number of items within the scales and variance of scores (Lehman, 2005, p 142). The T-test will be employed to determine the relationships between the variables. Moreover, we will rely on ANOVA since it helps the researchers to avoid type I error. In other words, this tool helps to see whether the relationships between the variables are statistically significant. While interpreting the data, we will focus primarily on the differences in the means of the two samples. Furthermore, it is necessary to understand how academic disciplines influence educators’ attitudes toward their job.
Reference List
Creswell. J. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. London: SAGE.
Glazer-Raymo. J. (2001). Shattering the Myths: Women in Academe. JHU Press.
Lehman A. (2005). JMP for basic univariate and multivariate statistics: a step-by-step guide. SAS Publishing.
Umbach. P. (2006). Gender Equity in the Academic Labor Market: An Analysis of Academic Disciplines. Research in Higher Education, 48, (2), pp 169-192.