proposal for predicting job satisfaction and success-james li

Running head: PREDICTING SUCCESS AND JOB SATISFACTION 1

Variance in Predicting Financial Success and Occupational Satisfaction

Krittanaphon Mookkung and James Li

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

PREDICTING SUCCESS AND JOB SATISFACTION 2

Abstract

This paper explores four published literatures that report on results from research

conducted on combined race and educational level effect on job complacency. This paper

examines income and occupational satisfaction among race and educational lines. It also

determines if race and level of education interact in affecting satisfaction of income and

content of work. There will be a hundred participants that are adult residents of Baltimore

City from all walks of life with some forms of occupation and steady income.

Independent variables are race and highest level of education. Dependent variables are

income, satisfaction of income and satisfaction of workplace. Flyers will be posted to

attract participants, and participants will complete a questionnaire when they come to the

location. Factorial ANOVA will be conducted to test the three hypothesis that follow.

People with a higher level of education will perceive worse job satisfaction than those

with a lower level of education. African Americans will perceive greater income

satisfaction than White Americans as a whole. White Americans will receive greater

annual income than minorities as a whole. Conclusions and implications for the current

research will be discussed.


Variance in Predicting Financial Success and Occupational Satisfaction

Our problem of interest was the literature on combined race and educational level

effect on satisfaction of income, satisfaction of work content and annual income level.

The link was that past research has shown that differences in race and educational level

did have different effects on annual income level, satisfaction of income and satisfaction

of work content. Racial differences in satisfaction of work content were present when

conditions of workplace was held constant (Bartel, 1981). Employee motivation and

satisfaction decreased as their level of education increased (Paul, 2012). In specific

contexts such as nursing, an increase level of education associated with an increase

workplace satisfaction (Rambur, McIntosh, Palumbo, & Reinier, 2005). Racial

differences in job satisfaction had shifted through the decades (Mukerjee, 2014). Mexican

Americans tended be very satisfied with their income and their work content, and

Mexican Americans also seemed to have lower annual income (East, & Hamill, 2013).

The basic purposes of the current experiment are to examine income and work content

satisfaction and annual income level among race and educational lines and to determine if

race and level of education interact in affecting satisfaction of income, satisfaction of

work content and annual income level. We will perform a factorial ANOVA from the

following three hypotheses. We hypothesize that people with a high level of education

will perceive worse work content satisfaction than those with a lower level of education.

We also hypothesize that African Americans, Mexican Americans and other minorities

may perceive greater income satisfaction than Caucasian Americans as a whole. The third


hypothesis will be that White Americans will receive greater annual income than

minorities as a whole.


Method

Participants

Participants will be asked to participate in a research study. The purpose of this

study will be to explore the strength of academic measures in predicting future success

and job satisfaction, with regards to race and gender. Participants will be asked to

volunteer because the researchers of this study require their input to be a part of the

researchers’ analysis. Participants’ involvement in this study will begin when they agree

to participate and will continue until completion of the questionnaire. About 100 persons

will be invited to participate. Any information learned and collected from this study in

which participants might be identified will remain confidential and will be disclosed

ONLY if the participants give permission. Consenting to participate in this research also

indicates participants’ agreement that all information collected from them individually

may be used by current and future researchers in such a fashion that their personal

identity will be protected.

Materials

Highest level of education and race are independent variables. There are five

levels in highest level of education: “did not finish high school”, “high school diploma”,

“some college”, “Bachelor or Associate degree” and “Graduate Degree” (see Appendix).

The following question will asked for this variable: “What is the highest level of

education that you’ve achieved? (Please circle one)” There are six levels in race:

“African American”, “Asian American”, “Caucasian American”, “Hispanic American”,

“Native American” and “Others” (see Appendix). The following question will be asked


for this variable: “With what race do you identify as? (If mixed, please circle ‘other’ and

describe) - (Please circle one).” Each level of the independent variable will be a choice

for the participants to pick on the questionnaire (see Appendix). The three dependent

variables are annual income, satisfaction of income and satisfaction of work content.

Annual income will range from $0 to how ever much the highest income will be. The

following question will be asked for this variable: “What is your estimated annual

income?” (see Appendix). Income satisfaction will be on a five point scale with 1 point

being “Very Unsatisfied”, 2 point being “Unsatisfied”, 3 point being “Neutral/ Don’t

know”, 4 point being “Satisfied” and 5 point being “Very Satisfied” (see Appendix). The

following question will be asked for this variable: “How satisfied are you with the

income that you earn? (Please circle one).” Satisfaction of work content can be

interpreted as how satisfied the participant is with type and the specific roles of the job

that the participant has. Satisfaction of work content will also be on a five point scale

with 1 point being “Very Unsatisfied”, 2 point being “Unsatisfied”, 3 point being

“Neutral/ Don’t know”, 4 point being “Satisfied” and 5 point being “Very Satisfied” (see

Appendix). The following question will be asked for this variable: “How satisfied are you

with the content of work that you have? (Please circle one).” For the last two dependent

variables, higher points signify higher satisfaction level of either income or work content.

Procedure

As participants in this study, they will be asked to complete a questionnaire

consisting of six multiple choice questions pertaining to my public identity and

employment. None of the questions will ask for personal information, and their answers

PREDICTING SUCCESS AND JOB SATSIFACTION 7

will be completely anonymous. Their participation in this study will last for one session,

and will complete when they turn in the questionnaire. They will then come to one of the

researchers to receive compensation (100 dollars) for their time. If researchers wish to

toss out their consent form, they may hand it to the researcher and observe it being

shredded for full privacy.


Proposed Analyses

We will run an ANOVA to explore the strength of educational levels and variance

in race in predicting future success in terms of income, satisfaction of income and content

of work. This is because we only have categorical independent variables (highest

education and race). There will be a main effect of highest education on all of the

outcomes, but we also hypothesize that there will be a main effect of race on the

outcomes. A significant main effect of race will test the hypothesis that African

Americans will report higher satisfaction of income and higher satisfaction of work

content than White, Asians, Hispanics and Native Americans. A significant main effect

of highest education will test the hypothesis that people with higher education levels will

report lower satisfaction of income and lower satisfaction of work content. We

hypothesize that there will be no interaction effect. There will be Bonferroni post-hoc

tests for race and highest education. Simple effects of the significant interactions between

race and education will be examined if analysis yields an interaction effect.


Conclusion

The goal of this study will be to use divergence in race and levels of education to

predict the variance in financial success and work satisfaction in terms of income,

satisfaction of income and content of work. If our hypothesis is supported, this will imply

that the current way of education will not benefit certain ethnicities because they seem to

not succeed financially from it. The government will want to reform the educational

system to target exactly those ethnicities who will not benefit from school. Another

implication will be that financial success does not depend solely on education but also on

other factors. So, the ethnicities who will not benefit from education may seek to find

what attributes they are missing in achieving financial success. For example, may be they

are lacking self-confidence and/or work ethics. One limitation will be that we only rely

on flyers to advertise our study. Even though we can post a lot of flyers, flyers by

themselves are not that enticing. To address this in future studies, we will switch to using

a combination of measures. For example, craigslist ads, radio station commercials and

TV commercials. The second limitation will be the accuracy of the information given by

our volunteers on our questionnaire. People may randomly fill out the form just to get it

over with to take the money. To address this in future studies, we will want to ask our

volunteers to bring proofs with them. Some proofs may be high school and college

transcript and diplomas that will be used to confirm the information given by our

volunteers.


References

Bartel, A. P. (1981). Race differences in job satisfaction: A reappraisal. Journal of

Human Resources, 294-303.

Paul, T. (2012). The Impact of age and education on the level of satisfaction and

motivation among employees. The IUP Journal of Management Research,11(1),

29-37.

Rambur, B., McIntosh, B., Palumbo, M. V., & Reinier, K. (2005). Education as a

determinant of career retention and job satisfaction among registered nurses.

Journal Of Nursing Scholarship, 37(2), 185-192. doi:10.1111/j.1547-

5069.2005.00031.x

Mukerjee, S. (2014). Job satisfaction in the united states: Are blacks still more satisfied?.

Review Of Black Political Economy, 41(1), 61-81. doi:10.1007/s12114-013-9174-

6

East, P. L., & Hamill, S. B. (2013). Sibling caretaking among Mexican American youth:

conditions that promote and hinder personal and school success. Hispanic Journal

Of Behavioral Sciences, 35(4), 542-564.


Appendix

Whom to Contact about this study: Principal Investigator: Krittanaphon Mookkung, Boyang LiDepartment: Psychology Department, UMBCTelephone number: (240-778-7594) K. Mookkung (240-712-0741) B. Li

INFORMED CONSENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN RESEARCH ACTIVITIESVariance in Predicting Financial Success and Occupational Satisfaction

I. INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: I am being asked to participate in a research study. The purpose of this study is to explore the strength of academic measures in predicting future success and job satisfaction, with regards to race and gender. I am being asked to volunteer because the researchers of this study require my input to be a part of their analysis. My involvement in this study will begin when I agree to participate and will continue until completion of the questionnaire. About 100 persons will be invited to participate.

II. PROCEDURES: As a participant in this study, I will be asked to complete a questionnaire

consisting of six multiple choice questions pertaining to my public identity and employment. None of the questions will ask for personal information, and my answers are completely anonymous. My participation in this study will last for one session, and will complete when I turn in the questionnaire. I will then come to one of the researchers to receive compensation (1 dollar) for my

time. If I wish to toss out my consent form, I may hand it to the researcher and observe it being shredded for full privacy.

III. RISKS AND BENEFITS: My participation in this study does not involve any significant risks and I have been informed that my participation in this research will not benefit me personally, but will benefit research with regards to education and employment in racially divergent neighborhoods.

IV. CONFIDENTIALITY: Any information learned and collected from this study in which I might be identified will remain confidential and will be disclosed ONLY if I give permission. All information collected in this study will be stored in a locked file cabinet in a locked room. Only the investigator and members of the research team will have access to these records. If information learned from this study is published, I will not be identified by name. By signing this form, however, I allow the research study investigator to make my records available


to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Institutional Review Board (IRB) and regulatory agencies as required to do so by law.

Consenting to participate in this research also indicates my agreement that all information collected from me individually may be used by current and future researchers in such a fashion that my personal identity will be protected. Such use will include sharing anonymous information with other researchers for checking the accuracy of study findings and for future approved research that has the potential for improving human knowledge.

V. COMPENSATION/COSTS: My participation in this study will involve no cost to me. I will be paid one dollar for my efforts upon completion of the questionnaire.

VI. CONTACTS AND QUESTIONS : The principal investigator(s), Krittanaphon Mookkung and Boyang Li has offered to and has answered any and all questions regarding my participation in this research study. If I have any further questions, I can contact Krittanaphon Mookkung and Boyang Li at [email protected] (240-778-7594) and [email protected] (240-712-0741) respectively.

If I have any questions about my rights as a participant in this research study, contact the Office for Research Protections and Compliance at (410) 455-2737 or [email protected].

VII. VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION I have been informed that my participation in this research study is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw or discontinue participation at any time. I have been informed that data collected for this study will be retained by the investigator and analyzed even if I choose to withdraw from the research. If I do choose to withdraw, the investigator and I have discussed my withdrawal and the investigator may use my information up to the time I decide to withdraw.

I will be given a copy of this consent form to keep.

VIII. SIGNATURE FOR CONSENT The above-named investigator has answered my questions and I agree to be a research participant in this study.

Participant’s Name: ________________________ Date:______________________

Participant’s Signature: _____________________ Date:______________________

Investigator's Signature: _____________________ Date:______________________


(consent form template) – 02/28/[email protected]

What is the highest level of education that you’ve achieved? (Please circle one)

Did not finishhigh

school

High school Diploma

Some college

Bachelors or Associate degree

Graduate degree

With what race do you identify as? (If mixed, please circle ‘other’ and describe) - (Please circle one)

African American Asian American Caucasian American

Hispanic American Native American Other: _______________________

On a Five Point Scale: 1-5

How satisfied are you with the income that you earn? (Please circle one)

Very Unsatisfied (1)

Unsatisfied (2)

Neutral/ Don’t know (3)

Satisfied(4)

Satisfied(5)

On a Five Point Scale: 1-5

How satisfied are you with the content of work that you have? (Please circle one)

Very Unsatisfied (1)

Unsatisfied(2)

Neutral/ Don’t know

(3)

Satisfied(4)

Very Satisfied(5)

What is your estimated annual income?

proposal for predicting job satisfaction and success-james li

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