Indoor Smoking Restriction Effects at the Workplace Research Paper

Research Question

Research Question

Regarding the research question, various questions can form the basis of this research. In this light, the research might seek to determine the prevalence of smoking among employees and employers. Secondly, it might seek to determine the influx of customers before and after the legislation. Therefore, two questions revolve around it. The fir question seeks to know whether there is a change in the prevalence of smoking among employers and employees. Secondly, another question could seek to determine whether there are any changes in the number of customers visiting the business after the legislation.

Prior Research

Unlike New South Wales, Kenya carried out research determining the effect of similar legislation on employees and employers. The researchers discovered that the legislation reduced the prevalence of smoking among employees and employers. In this case, the employers argued that they considered quitting as a way of setting a good example. On the other hand, employees suggested that they had difficult moments when balancing the program with the sudden urge to smoking. In this case, they argued that they could not compromise their jobs for smoking. Consequently, many employees chose to quit the behavior. Ninety percent of the employees depicted a change in the number of customers visiting their business after legislation. They argued that the smoking culture among the employees destabilized customers and lowered the customers’ preference for their business (Peter 456).

Problem

The legislation focuses on the whole population in New South Wales. In the population, we have employees and employers. They are entitled to professional and business ethics. However, researchers have focused on the effect of this legislation on the general public only. Regrettably, they have neglected research on the effect of the legislation on the employees and employers.

Establishments and Unresolved Issues

The purpose of this paper is to establish research that will settle the unresolved issues. In this light, failure to conduct research focusing on the employees and employers has created an unresolved research gap. Consequently, this research seeks to understand the effects of legislation on this unique segment of the population.

Sampling Frame, Size, and Problems

Sampling Frame

Before sampling, the researcher must identify the target population. The target population is the number of people relevant to research (Cochran 218). In this research, the target population will be the employees and employers of various companies. The research will have four data sets. These data sets will include professional employers, casual employers, professional employees, and casual employees.

Sampling Method and Size

In this light, it will be done using the method of random purposive sampling. This method has two crucial components. First, it collects the samples in a random manner ensuring that the sample is not biased (Jha 432). Therefore, the sample is not collected in a manner that seeks to favor some predetermined results. Secondly, the methods incorporate a purposive element. This implies the consideration of a sample that is relevant to the research (Thompson 655). Consequently, the chosen companies must have existed before and after the legislation.

Regarding the sample size, the research will consider a given percent of the professional companies. Similarly, it will consider the proportion of informal companies. Additionally, it will involve 1000 data points of the total population incorporating the employees and employers. This percentage will provide reliable information since the sample will be collected randomly.

Sampling Problems

The research might face various problems during sampling. First, identifying the relevant sample will pose a serious challenge to them. In this case, it will be difficult to identify the smoking employees and employers. Besides, the researcher will have difficulties while identifying the cooperative respondent. In this light, some respondents might be secretive due to their privacy (Jha 412).

Administration and Fieldwork Decisions

The research will carry out detailed interviews with the respondents. The interview will be administered through phone calls and physical confrontation. Regarding the physical administration of the questionnaire, it will be quite costly owing to the complex logistics involved. These logistics include requesting permission, transport, and others. Also, the method is time-consuming since the companies might take a lot of time before responding to their requests. However, the method is reliable since the researcher will be sure of interviewing the required respondent. On the other hand, using phone calls is efficient and cost-effective. Also, it saves on time significantly. This ensures that the research does not take a lot of time.

On the other hand, there is a possibility of interviewing the wrong people. Besides, some respondents might have switched off their phones. This implies that the interview might not take place (Peter, 2006). However, the interviewer will not call the respondents during office hours. Lastly, some companies might retain phone numbers owing to the privacy policy of their employees. As a result, the interview might not proceed. For both methods, some respondents might not turn up due to personal reasons. In that case, the interviewers must record the irregularity. This irregularity should be recorded in the field book. If there are many non-respondent, the researchers will embark on the sampling procedure.

The interviewer team will be recruited by the ministry of environment. This recruitment will be based on professional qualifications. The recruitment will be announced publicly to avoid corruption which can compromise the professional credibility of the research. The applicants will be interviewed and recruited. In this case, applicants must have a diploma or a degree in the statistical method. Moreover, applicants with a similar qualification in related courses will be considered. After recruitment, the interviewer team will be answerable to the Human Resource Manager.

The questionnaires will be stored in an orderly manner ensuring that they do not develop confusion. In this light, the questionnaires will be arranged according to the data sets. There are four data sets in this research. Therefore, each interviewer will have four files. After administering the questionnaires, they should keep them in the corresponding file. To facilitate the arrangement the files will be coded according to the regions of respondents. This implies that the zip codes will be attached to the files.

Each of the questions will take one minute. The researcher will have two minutes of self-introduction. Also, the respondents will take two minutes of introduction. Each question will take approximately one minute. The respondent will be added two minutes to give additional information and make a conclusion. However, the researcher might choose to extend the time according to situations that surround the interview.

Questionnaire

Description of Questionnaire

Validity and reliability of the results is an essential factor. Therefore, the questionnaires will ensure that these factors are met. In this light, the research cannot rely on the memory of the researcher owing to memory loss. Therefore, various instruments and tools will be used for the collection and analysis of the collected information. In this light, the research will use questionnaires when collecting data. In this case, the questionnaires will be flexible. This implies that they allow researchers to change their content to accommodate themes that arise during the research (Bulmer, Vaus, and Fielding 304). Also, it allows the removal of irrelevant themes that might have been included during the research proposal. This will ensure that the research does not leave out some necessary information that could aid in the analysis and conclusion.

Also, most questions will be open-ended to ensure that the respondents give enough information concerning the effects of this legislation. As a result, the questions will allow the respondent to give additional information on the legislation. Afterward, additional information will be analyzed. Consequently, the relevant themes will be included in subsequent interviews. This ensures that the researcher capture enough data for the analysis. However, researchers need to control the respondent. This ensures that they do not waste time on irrelevant information.

Also, the questionnaires will include closed questions. These questions will have multiple choices. The respondents will tick the appropriate answer. The choices will include a null choice. This choice will show that the question does not apply to the respondent. During, the research the respondents might omit some questions. This can result in missing data. In this light, the analysis will be difficult and impossible. Therefore, the questions will be written in bold letters. This will ensure that the respondents can see the questions. During the survey, the interviewers will approach the respondents during their free time. Alternatively, the researcher will ask for permission from the administration. This ensures that the respondents answer the questions freely.

Research Questionnaire

Section A: Personal Information

• Name
• Gender
• Company
• Department
• Period of Work
• Date

Section B: Employers’ Questions

• How long has your company operated?
• How many employees does the company have?
• How many employees smoke?
• What is the level of addiction for smokers?

1. 1. Slight
   2. Normal
   3. Severe

• Where do the smokers smoke from?

1. 1. Outside Business
   2. Inside the Business

• Personally, do you smoke?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• What feeling can leads to smoking?

1. 1. Frustration
   2. Stress
   3. Financial constraints

• What factors have contributed to the reduction in the level of smoking in your organization?

1. 1. External (e.g. force from family members, and financial constraints among others)
   2. Internal(e.g. force from the employer, force from fellow employees, and force from customers among others)

• What main effects did the legislation bring to the organization about smoking?

1. 1. Social (e.g. improved social interactions, good working environment, and reduced conflict between employers and employees)
   2. Economical (e.g. saving on money, and financial independence among others)

• In case you smoke, what difficulties do you meet with your employees and customers?

1. 1. Managerial
   2. Personal
   3. Administrative

• Do you have intentions to quit smoking on the face of legislation?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• Has the legislation reduced the number of employees smoking?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

Section 3: Employees’ Questions

• How has the legislation affected your smoking behavior?

1. 1. Positively
   2. Negatively

• Do you have the intention of quitting?

1. 1. Yes
   2. No

• How has the new legislation affected the level of customers’ influx?

1. 1. Increment
   2. Decrement

• What will be the overall effect of this legislation regarding your fellow employees?

• Other than legislation, what other factors led to quitting?

1. 1. Financial inability
   2. Pressure from friends
   3. Health problems

• What feeling made you smoke?

1. 1. Frustrations
   2. Employers’ force
   3. Stress
   4. Family problems

• Kindly, provide other information regarding the effect of this legislation on the employees?

Your participation has been appreciated.

Validity and Reliability of Questionnaires

The use of flexible questionnaires ensures that the arising themes are incorporated into the research (Kirk and Miller 198). This means that the research will not seek for the considered information only. Instead, it will be flexible and elastic in accordance with the prevailing situations. It will allow the addition of themes emanating during the interviews. Therefore, the research will be reliable and credible.

Also, the questionnaires will include sensitive questions. For example, the questions will not ask for the age of respondents. Instead, it will inquire about the respondents’ birthday. As a result, the respondents will answer the questions freely and in the right manner.

Data Analysis

In this case, qualitative and quantitative analysis will be considered. The analysis will be done parallel to data collection. This will ensure that researchers can modify the questionnaires to accommodate arising themes and discard the irrelevant ones. The recruited team will be divided into two groups. The first group will collect data while the second group will be analyzing the data. Then, the analysts will give feedback to the interviewer at intervals. The feedback will contain a recommendation for inclusion and exclusion of themes. This will help the interviewers to modify the questionnaires to ensure that the research is wholesome. In this light, it will ensure that all the relevant information is considered for the research. Also, the information from the four data sets will be analyzed differently. In this case, the analysts will be divided into four groups. Each group will analyze their data set. Afterward, they will present the results on the same platform and make comparisons. This will ensure the harmonization of the differences and maintenance of the similarities.

Regarding quantitative analysis, the research will consider a bivariate variable that will focus on the number of employers and employees who are smoking recently. Then, it will consider the second data set that will focus on the number of employees who quitted smoking. The analysis will be based on the correlation between the number of employees and employers on both data sets. It will seek to understand the relationship between the smoking behavior of the employers and that of one of the employees.

Opportunities for Triangulation

The USA has advanced in their legal experience and legislation. Also, it has made legislation against smoking. Researchers have performed research on the effect of legislation on the employees and employers. Therefore, the results will be compared with the USA result. In this light, the similarities that will be perceived from the two types of research will validate this research. In case of differences, the researcher will account for them. This account will aim at determining the omissions that might have occurred. Besides, I will determine the strengths and weaknesses of both types of research.

Works Cited

Bulmer, Martin, D. Vaus, and Nigel Fielding. Questionnaires. London: Sage Publications, 2004. Print.

Cochran, William G. Sampling techniques. New York: Wiley, 1977. Print.

Jha, N. K. Research methodology. Chandigarh: Abhishek Publications, 2008. Print.

Kirk, Jerome, and Marc L. Miller. Reliability and validity in qualitative research. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1986. Print.

Peter, K. Research agenda on population and development in Kenya. Nairobi: National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development, 2006. Print.

Thompson, Steven. Sampling. New York: Wiley, 1992. Print.