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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.
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