Microsoft Word 2007 ichrie conference Proceedings Final-Final 06-06-07. doc

 
2007 Annual International CHRIE Conference & Exposition 
287
determined. A pilot test of the questionnaire was administered to twenty-eight students classified as juniors and 
seniors from a different university who were not part of the frame for this study. Input from the pilot study indicated 
that questionnaire was clear and easy to follow. A Cronbach’s alpha of .90 was found from the pilot test, indicating 
that the instrument was reliable with a high degree of internal consistency. Because of these positive results, no 
modifications were made to the instrument. After the study was completed, this portion of the instrument indicated a 
Cronbach’s alpha of .99. 
The questionnaires were directly administered. Selection error, which might occur when a recipient is contacted via 
two addresses or location was avoided by giving and receiving one questionnaire from each senior students present 
at the time of data collection (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002). Data were collected from three different classes of 
senior students. Each class was visited once and only the senior students present at the time of visitation were 
surveyed. Collected data were processed by means of quantitative research methods. Prior to data analysis, pre-
analysis data screening was performed to ensure the accuracy of the data and to deal with missing and incomplete 
data. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14.0 for Windows, a product 
of SPSS, Inc. Frequency was used to screen the data for any irregularities. Pearson product moment and point 
biserial correlation coefficients were used to describe the relationships between the variables. Descriptive statistics 
(e.g., mean) were used to analyze the self-perceived competence at performing the employability skills and the 
environment where the competence was developed. The mean, or arithmetic average, is the “most widely used 
measure of central tendency, it is the sum of all the values in distribution divided by the number of cases” (Ary et al, 
p. 128). The standard deviation basically indicates the variability between the values in distribution that provided the 
mean. 
The scoring and interpretation of the students’ level of competence at performing 67 employability skills 
was based on means. Means for this part of the study were interpreted using the following scale: 0.00-0.49 = No
competence, 0.50-1.49 = Minor competence, 1.50-2.49 = Moderate competence and 2.50-3.00 = Major competence.
Means were also used to identify the environment from which the senior students developed their level of 
competence. Those means were interpreted using the following scale: 1.00-1.49 = Almost exclusively from sources 
other than those associated with the HRM program, 1.50-2.49 = Mostly from sources other than those associated 
with the HRM program, 2.50-3.49 = Equally from the HRM program and from sources other than those associated 
with the HRM program, 3.50-4.49 = Mostly from the HRM program, and 4.50-5.00 = Almost exclusively from the 
HRM program. Point biserial
 
correlation coefficients were used to determine the relationships between variables. 
Interpretations of the correlation coefficients were based on Davis’ (1983) conventions for interpreting correlation 
associations. Those conventions are as follows: .70 or higher = Very strong association, .50-.69 = Substantial 
association, .30-.49 = Moderate association, .10-.29 = Low association and .01-.09 = Negligible association.