Jeffrey M. Stanton

Introduction: Understanding and dealing with organizational survey nonresponse

A survey is a potentially powerful assessment, monitoring, and evaluation tool available to organizational scientists. To be effective, however, individuals must complete the survey and in the inevitable case of nonresponse, we must understand if our results exhibit bias. In this article, the nonresponse bias impact assessment strategy (N-BIAS) is proposed. The N-BIAS approach is a series of techniques that when used in combination, provide evidence about a studys susceptibility to bias and its external validity. The N-BIAS techniques stem from a review of extant research and theory. To inform future revisions of the N-BIAS approach, a future research agenda for advancing the study of survey response and nonresponse is provided.A survey is a potentially powerful assessment, monitoring, and evaluation tool available to organizational scientists. To be effective, however, individuals must complete the survey and in the inev...

A general measure of work stress: The Stress in General scale.

The present study focused on the development and validation of scores on the Stress in General scale. Three diverse samples of workers (n = 4,322, n = 574, n = 34) provided psychometric and validity evidence. All evidence converged on the existence of two distinct subscales, each of which measured a different aspect of general work stress. The studies also resulted in meaningful patterns of correlations with stressor measures, a physiological measure of chronic stress (blood-pressure reactivity), general job attitude measures, and intentions to quit.

Using Internet/Intranet Web Pages to Collect Organizational Research Data

Wide availability of networked personal computers within organizations has enabled new methods for organizational research involving presentation of research stimuli using Web pages and browsers. The authors provide an overview of the technological challenges for collecting organizational data through this medium as a springboard to discuss the validity of such research and its ethical implications. A review of research comparing Web browser–based research with other administration modalities appears to warrant guarded optimism about the validity of these new methods. The complexity of the technology and researchers’ relative unfamiliarity with it have created a number of pitfalls that must be avoided to ensure ethical treatment of research participants. The authors highlight the need for an online research participants’ bill of rights and other structures to ensure successful and appropriate use of this promising new research medium.

A Lengthy Look at the Daily Grind: Time Series Analysis of Events, Mood, Stress, and Satisfaction

The present study investigated processes by which job stress and satisfaction unfold over time by examining the relations between daily stressful events, mood, and these variables. Using a Web-based daily survey of stressor events, perceived strain, mood, and job satisfaction completed by 14 university workers, 1,060 occasions of data were collected. Transfer function analysis, a multivariate version of time series analysis, was used to examine the data for relationships among the measured variables after factoring out the contaminating influences of serial dependency. Results revealed a contrast effect in which a stressful event associated positively with higher strain on the same day and associated negatively with strain on the following day. Perceived strain increased over the course of a semester for a majority of participants, suggesting that effects of stress build over time. Finally, the data were consistent with the notion that job satisfaction is a distal outcome that is mediated by perceived strain.

Shorter can Also be Better: The Abridged Job in General Scale.

The Job Descriptive Index family of job attitude measures includes the Job in General (JIG) scale, a measure of global satisfaction with one’s job. The scale was originally developed and validated by Ironson, Smith, Brannick, Gibson, and Paul. Following structured scale reduction procedures developed by Stanton, Sinar, Balzer, and Smith, the current authors developed an abridged version of the JIG for use by practitioners and researchers of organizational behavior. They report the results of three validation studies documenting the process of scale reduction and the psychometric suitability of the reduced-length scale.

Religion: An Overlooked Dimension in Cross-Cultural Psychology

This article argues that religion should be fully integrated into cross-cultural research for four reasons: (a) religion, by itself, occupies a substantial role in peoples lives across different cultures; (b) religion has been found to be a strong predictor of important life domains among individuals all over the world; (c) religion has a strong influence on cross-cultural dimensions; and (d) culture also influences and shapes religious beliefs and practices. The authors present a five-dimensional framework of religion and provide recommendations on ways it can be integrated within cross-cultural research.This article argues that religion should be fully integrated into cross-cultural research for four reasons: (a) religion, by itself, occupies a substantial role in peoples lives across different cultures; (b) religion has been found to be a strong predictor of important life domains among individuals all over the world; (c) religion has a strong influence on cross-cultural dimensions; and (d) culture also influences and shapes religious beliefs and practices. The authors present a five-dimensional framework of religion and provide recommendations on ways it can be integrated within cross-cultural research.

Designing and implementing culturally‐sensitive IT applications: The interaction of culture values and privacy issues in the Middle East

The Internet, World Wide Web, and related information technologies, originally developed in Western countries, have rapidly spread to a great variety of countries and cultures. Many of these technologies facilitate and mediate interpersonal communication, an activity whose modes and means bind closely to cultural values. This article provides a theoretical integration of a framework for culture values together with a model for understanding privacy and related issues that arise when personal information is shared or exchanged using information technology. The resulting hybrid framework can help understand and predict individuals’ culturally linked reactions to various communication‐related IT applications (e.g. e‐mail, e‐commerce sites, Web‐logs, bulletin boards, newsgroups) in diverse cultural contexts. An application of the framework to cultural settings in Middle Eastern nations concludes the article.

Development of a Compact Measure of Job Satisfaction: The Abridged Job Descriptive Index

The Job Descriptive Index is a popular measure of job satisfaction with five subscales containing 72 items. A national sample (n = 1,534) and a sample of university workers (n = 636) supported development of an abridged version of the Job Descriptive Index (AJDI) containing a total of 25 items. A systematic scale-reduction technique was employed with the first sample to decide which items to retain in each scale. The abridged subscales were then tested in the second sample. Results indicated that the relationships among the five abridged subscales and between the five abridged subscales and other measures were substantially preserved.

Company profile of the frequent internet user

Web addict or happy employee?

Galton, Pearson, and the Peas: A Brief History of Linear Regression for Statistics Instructors

An examination of publications of Sir Francis Galton and Karl Pearson revealed that Galtons work on inherited characteristics of sweet peas led to the initial conceptualization of linear regression. Subsequent efforts by Galton and Pearson brought about the more general techniques of multiple regression and the product-moment correlation coefficient. Modern textbooks typically present and explain correlation prior to introducing prediction problems and the application of linear regression. This paper presents a brief history of how Galton originally derived and applied linear regression to problems of heredity. This history illustrates additional approaches instructors can use to introduce simple linear regression to students.