The research methodology employed in this study is described and explained in this chapter. The methodology is discussed in the contexts of (1) research focus, (2) variables, (3) research design, (4) population and sample selection, (5) data collection and instrumentation, and (6) data analysis.
Research Focus Three research questions were investigated in this study, and three related hypotheses were tested. These research questions, and the associated hypotheses, were as follows:
1. Are perceived stress levels affected by the job related injury experience of an individual employee?
It is hypothesized that perceived stress levels will be higher among employees who have suffered a job related injury.
2. Are perceived stress levels affected by the job classification of an individual employee?
It is hypothesized that perceived stress levels will be higher as the organizational hierarchical level of an employee's job classification descends.
3. Are perceived stress levels affected by the gender of an individual employee?
It is hypothesized that perceived stress levels will be higher generally among male employees than among female employees. An effort was also made to develop a model that would permit the prediction of perceived stress among members of an
organization. The predictor variables in this model were (1) the level of a subject's position in the organizational hierarchy, (2) the subject's job related injury experience, and (3) the subject's gender.
The dependent variable in the analyses performed for this study was a subject's perceived level of stress. Perceived stress levels were numerical values assigned as the result of administration of the Life Events Survey, which is also known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes and Rahe, 1976).
The independent variables in the analyses were (1) the level of a subject's position in the organizational hierarchy, (2) the subjec...