Hypotheses

1. There is high level of happiness and love of the job; it will increase the job performance.

2. There is moderate level of stress; it will decrease the job performance.

3. There is high level of flexibility at work; it will increase the job performance.

Now that you've come up with your theory and hypotheses, it's time to test them to see if they are supported with data. First you must come up with ways of measuring the concepts contained in your hypotheses. OB research typically involves several kinds of measures, including self-report scales (where a "scale" is a collection of multiple survey items), behavioral observation, and organizational records (e.g., performance appraisal forms, time card data, absenteeism rates, productivity indices). For the sake of simplicity, your project will use only self-report scales. You will create or adopt two scales of no more than 10 items each.  One scale will measure your independent variable and the other scale will measure your dependent variable. (There are a number of resources listed at the end of this handout to help you create these scales).

You will then administer your survey to 30 people who are as different from one another as possible. You will enter the data in an Excel spreadsheet and compute some basic statistics:

1. Reliability of each scale
2. Mean and standard deviation of each scale
3. Correlation coefficient between your independent and dependent variable and statistical significance (i.e., p value).

If you have trouble computing these statistics, I expect you to consult one of the resources listed at the end of this handout. Your instructor will not compute these statistics for you.

Your theory receives some verification if the correlations in your data support your hypotheses. If they do not, then your theory needs to be amended. Note that the support (or lack of support) of your predictions has no bearing on your grade. Research projects rarely turn out exactly the way we want.

Your assignment should give the following details. All answers must be posted in the discussion board (no attachments will be graded). 

1. The survey items used to measure your independent variable and dependent variables.
2. Demographics of your survey respondents (e.g., percentage of males/females, average age, average years of work experience, etc.).
3. Mean and standard deviation of your survey responses.
4. Reliability of each scale (i.e., Cronbach's alpha).
5. Correlation coefficient between your independent and dependent variable and statistical significance of this correlation.
6. A paragraph describing the interpretation of the results including whether the correlations support or refute your hypotheses. Also, some conceptual explanation of whether the results make sense.
7. A list of 5 very specific prescriptions for managers, based on your results.