Introduction
The issue of equity in academic labor market has been already discussed by a number of people.
The reasons of this investigation vary considerably: some researchers find it necessary to define the conditions under which academic disciplines may be considerably improved, some people want to introduce better conditions in a particular labor market, and in some investigations, the idea of gender and racial inequality turns out to be a rather significant question that has to be solved within a short period of time.
During the last decade, several American researchers offer their ideas concerning the improvement of the conditions under which equity in academic labor market may be promoted, still, the analysis of academic disciplines shows that the necessary changes do not take place accordingly so that working conditions are improved.
This is why it seems to be obligatory not to develop some new ideas and methods to solve the already defined problem but try to make use of the offered ideas and evaluate their effectiveness from a variety of perspectives. This is why the idea to use secondary research methods to investigate the equity in academic labor market and introduce the analysis of academic disciplines is considered to be powerful indeed.
The evaluation of the already implemented hierarchical linear model (Umbach, 2007), certain analysis of academia population (Mayer & Tikka, 2008), and attention to the data offered by the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (Xu, 2007) will help to define the problems in academic labor market and propose the solutions which will be more appropriate to a particular population.
Method and Design
Description
Taking into consideration the fact that the equity in the academic labor market has been already investigated by a number of researchers, it is possible to rely on the secondary research method that aims at synthesizing and evaluating the already existing thoughts and material on the chosen topic.
The data sources for the chosen method are considered to be the surveys offered by National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) and the articles where the required investigations are described.
The point is that gender inequality is the issue that bothers many people as female attempts to gain equity seem to be not comparable for women in each district of the USA as poor, less-educated women or the women of color cannot get an access to the gains which are available to white, rich, and properly educated women (Richardson & Sandoval, 2007).
The investigations of Umbach (2009) help to understand that market segmentation is considered to be an important aspect of sex differences which may be observed at the academic labor market because women have to work under poorer conditions characterized by lower prestige.
The worth of the use of the hierarchical linear modeling has been already checked by such researchers like Umbach and Seifert (2007), this is why it is possible to focus on the same model to evaluate certain individual characteristics and their relation to academic salaries.
In other words, some contextual effects which are inherent to academic disciplines and faculty salary equity will be taken into consideration (Umbach, 2007).
Integration of the information from different sources will allow creating a clear background with the help of which the current diversity of academic people may be described. Equity in academia is regarded as unsolved issue, this is why any type of contribution to this sphere of life will become crucial.
Strengths of the Chosen Method
One of the powerful aspects of the chosen method is that certain attention is paid to the already identified problems and challenges. There is no need to conduct research to understand that is wrong with the academic disciplines and equity in the labor market.
Several sufficient researchers have already admit that the number of women who may earn certification in the required education administration does not correspond to the national level, still, the results of the evaluation of the existing preparatory programs prove that women are more eager to gain knowledge in the academic sphere (Shakeshaft et al., 2007).
The results of their investigations prove that women do face certain problems in the labor market, and the identification of the reasons of why so many people cannot solve the problem help to understand why the chosen concept is still under discussions.
One more strong aspect of the method and the design under consideration is connected to the status of American women on the world arena. Women have to be invited to the academic staff, still, the already introduced gender stereotypes and social conditions under which women have to enter the labor market are not as successful as meant to be.
Finally, the last strength of the envisioned method is that the current achievements in analyzing information should help to gain better understanding of the material offered by the researchers mentioned above. Time factor plays a very important role as people get more opportunities to investigate their possibilities and their achievements in different spheres.
This is why it is not only better to use the offered secondary research method and focus on the already introduced findings but also more appropriate to learn what is already offered to society and make use of the achievements.
Appropriateness of the Design
Research design offered in this project will help to hold all the findings together. It should show the way of how the main parts of the project should be organized and the conditions which should be created for the research.
The analysis of up-to-date literature, identification of the weaknesses in the sphere under consideration, and implementation of new ideas should encourage the researchers to develop new ideas and introduce new solutions of the old problems.
The point is that equity in the academic labor market has been already identified as a problem to be solved, and the analysis of academic disciplines as well as the role of gender and racial factors should be re-evaluated. Stromquist (2007) admits that “education is related positively to individual, community, and national benefits” from a pure human capital perspective (p. 33).
It seems rational to consider the reasons of why someone may think that the educational system is not perfect. Then, it is possible to underline the challenges possible in the academic labor market.
And finally, it is necessary to use the already made achievements and the worth of the hierarchical linear model and apply this material to introduce some new ideas and suggestions on how the role of women as well as some other types of inequality should be solved in society.
Weaknesses of the envisioned method and design
In addition to the already identified strong aspects of the project, there is a list of weaknesses which have to be elaborated to achieve better results in the chosen investigation. Equity in the academic labor market and the analysis of academic disciplines should help to solve the problems because of which many people suffer nowadays.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to implement the offered ideas in different countries, this is why such developed countries like the USA or China will get more chances to improve the conditions under which the labor market may be developed, and a number of developing countries fail to take the same steps.
One more shortage of the chosen method is based on the lack of primary sources. On the one hand, it is beneficial to use the findings of professionals and be sure of their quality.
On the other hand, the chosen method is not as powerful as it could be due to inabilities to make certain improvements during the analysis itself. There is a list of conditions which have to be taken into consideration, and there is no possibility to add some new components to the research.
Justification of the Chosen Method and Design
Alternative methods
Among the existing variety of alternative methods which may be applied to investigate the chosen question, primary research such as interviews with the representatives of academic labor market or evaluation of the documents which describe difference academic disciplines and their peculiarities. Still, such methods seem to be less desirable as certain findings have been already fixed but fewer positive achievements are defined.
This is why it seems to be more appropriate to make use of the already gained material, consider the thoughts of professional researchers, and focus on equity that is so important in the academic labor market. Communication with direct representatives of the labor market as well as some empirical methods is possible, however, such methods require more time and efforts to be used.
In addition, the choice of such alternative methods may promote some doubts on the ideas offered by Umbach or Mayer. Still, there are many people who support the ideas of these researchers, this is why it is more reasonable to make use of their suggestions and thoughts.
Weakness of alternative methods
The main weakness of the chosen alternative methods is inability to find appropriate evidences. It is possible to interview on group of people at the academic labor market, still, it is hard to prove that other representatives of the chosen labor market face the same challenges. A number of factors have to be taken into consideration, and it is challenging to create some new programs which promote the development of equity.
This is why it is possible to use model programs and equitable assessment tools offered earlier (Nash et al., 2007) and pay more attention on the development of quality tools instead of searching some new aspects of old problems. The offered alternative methods have been already used in the middle of the 20th century.
As soon as civil rights movement appeared in the middle of the 1960s (Toutkoushian, Bellas, & Moore, 2007), people wanted to get to know why employers, who perform equal amounts of work, have to receive different salaries being the same representatives of the labor market.
This is why the main weakness of the alternative methods – past experience proved that some problems may appear during the investigation of the chosen issue, and it is better to concentrate on the already got data and try to improve the conditions within a short period of time.
Success of the offered methodology
The success of the offered methodology is predetermined by several factors. First of all, it is easy to find powerful evidence of the chosen ideas. The support of such researchers like Umbach proves that the chosen way of analysis is beneficial indeed.
Another important aspect of the research is the attention to HLM with the help of which it is possible to evaluate the role of human capital and certain structural characteristics of different disciplines. And finally, the offered ideas should help to improve the discipline outcomes and their role in the labor market.
Statistical models are not integral nowadays as they do not introduce a clear and definite solution of the problem. And the chosen method and design should promote a new stage with the help of which it is possible to define the steps by means of which people will get a chance to achieve the required equity.
Conclusion
In general, the theme of equity in the academic labor market seems to be rather important and influential. In fact, the quality of life is defined by the conditions under which people get and give education. If some mistakes take place in the educational system, it is obligatory to eliminate them within a short period of time.
However, a number of past investigations show that certain attempts and ideas are offered still cannot be elaborated accordingly. This is why it is necessary to take into consideration the already got data, evaluate the findings in the chosen sphere of life, and think about the improvements which may be done on the provided basis.
There is no need to create some innovative approaches but focus on what is already offered and try to improve the academic market. The analysis of academic disciplines in the United States should be organized on the researches conducted from 2007 to 2009.
Reference List
Mayer, A.J. & Tikka, P.M. (2008, November). Family-friendly policies and gender bias in academia. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 30(4), 363-374.
Nash, M.A., Klein, S.S., Bitters, B., Hobbs, S., Hotre, W.A., Shevtz., L., Wbarton, L. (2007). The role of government in advancing gender equity in education. In S.S. Klein (Eds.), Handbook for achieving gender equity through education (pp. 62-102). Mahwah: Routledge.
Richardson, B. & Sandoval, P. (2007). Impact of education on gender equity in employment and its outcomes. In S.S. Klein (Eds.), Handbook for achieving gender equity through education (pp. 43-58). Mahwah: Routledge.
Seifert, T. & Umach, P. (2008, June). The effects of faculty demographic characteristics and disciplinary context on dimensions of job satisfaction. Research in Higher Education, 49(4), 357-381.
Shakeshaft, C., Brown, G., Irby, B.I., Grogan, M., & Ballenger, J. (2007). Increasing gender equity in educational leadership. In S.S. Klein (Eds.), Handbook for achieving gender equity through education (pp. 103-130). Mahwah: Routledge.
Stromquist, N. P. (2007). Gender equity education globally. In S.S. Klein (Eds.), Handbook for achieving gender equity through education (pp. 33-42). Mahwah: Routledge.
Toutkoushian, R.K., Bellas, M.L., Moore, J.V. (2007, October). The interaction effects of gender, race, and marital status on faculty salaries. Journal of Higher Education, 78(5), p. 572-601.
Umbach, P.D. (2007, March). Gender equity in the academic labor market: An analysis of academic disciplines. Research in Higher Education, 48(2), 169-192.
Umbach, P.D. (2009, November). Sex segregation in academic labor markets and equity in faculty pay. Paper is published at the 34th Annual Conference of ASHE, Ralegh, NC,
Xu, Y.J. (2007, May). Gender disparity in STEM disciplines: A study of faculty attrition and turnover intentions. Research in Higher Education, 49(7), 607-624.