Example Of T-Test Study: The Relationship Between Computer Proficiency And Employment Research Paper

Abstract

In the age of today, every institution is becoming digitalized. It is not only the universities, but even early years settings are now introducing technological aspects in their literacy curriculum. Studies have analyzed this realm in wide depth and have often highlighted the difference on attitude towards technology in term of gender. This study, therefore, analyzes the relationship between computer proficiency and employment status in terms of gender. Results reveal that relationship between technology use at computer and proficiency level does not greatly differ for males and females. Instead, the type of the educational institute is related to the level of computer proficiency. In other words, the current study found that individuals coming from an urban institute were more proficient at using computers as compared to their rural counterparts. Hence, although employment status is not really related to computer use and proficiency, it has become the basic requirement for almost every office job. For this reason, institutes all over the globe along with parents at home, must enact and integrate computer/technological learning into their child’s daily routine in order to give rise to a well-developed and functioning world.

Introduction

The current era of technology has digitalized all institutes of the society. Whether it is a school or an office, technology is making the world revolve. Consequently, these institutes employ individuals who are well versed in this aspect. The existing literature highlights the role of technology in the world and also focuses upon analyzing the relationship between technology and employment and gender and technology. However, there is a dire need to analyze the relationship between the knowledge of information technology and its impact on getting a job by conducting a comparative analysis between males and females. For this reason, the following paper will examine the impact of information technology on getting employed with regard to gender difference.
Communication in form of information technology has changed the work place environment by making it more accessible, up-to-date, collaborative and effective. Activities are monitored, fraud and mishandling is avoided and sharing information has become easier. The advent of information technology has also given rise to telecommuting where workers now follow a flexible work schedule making things easier and accurate. Although jobs are being destroyed because of the technology boom, employment is also being created because of it. This is evident from the demand of computer and information technology that has now been incorporated in the eligibility criteria of a substantial amount of jobs (Yau, 2012).
Research has revealed varying findings related to the aspect of information technology in regard to gender differences. The work by Sarfo (2011) aimed at exploring the attitude of males and females from rural and urban setup towards information and communication technology. The study incorporated individuals having a mean age of 18.3 years. Sarfo (2011) used a questionnaire to analyze the ICT policy in Ghana, learning to make use of ICT, and the use of ICT to promote learning as well as teaching. Results showed that gender did not affect the attitude towards technology. However, the students from urban areas had a more positive attitude towards information technology in comparison to those belonging to the rural area (Shashaani & Khalili 2001). In contrast, the work by Women’s Foundation (2006) showed that males were more confident in using technology for learning as compared to females, especially in Hong Kong. Some of the components of technology include SPSS, AutoCAD, Visual Basic and more). The researcher added the idea that confidence related to technology is a socially constructed phenomenon instead of being an innate ability. On the contrary, the work by Wong & Hanafi (2007) also aimed at analyzing the use of information technology and related tools with respect to gender difference. Wong & Hanafi (2007) measured responses against the dimensions of aversion, confidence and usefulness. To test the difference, the researcher introduced an experimental IT course in order to see the difference. Results showed that both the genders demonstrated a similar attitude towards the use of information technology and the incorporation of IT course did not bring explicit results. However, the study by Wong & Hanafi (2007) found a conspicuous difference in the dimension of aversion. After introducing the information technology course, the dislike for information technology declined for males and females. In addition, the course created more confidence amongst females to learn and enact information technology.

On the basis of the existing literature, it can be hypothesized that:

Ho1: males are not better employed because of their use of information technology as compared to females.
Ha1: males are better employed because of their use of information technology as compared to females.
Ho2: As compared to females, males are not seen to make more use of technology at workplace
Ha2: As compared to females, males are seen to make more use of technology at workplace
Ho3: The type of institute does not affect the level of computer proficiency
Ha3: The type of institute affects the level of computer proficiency
Method
Since the aim of this research is to analyze the rate of employment in relation to the use of information technology, data will be collected from about 200 graduates; males and females belonging to two urban and two rural institutes. The sample will be selected through random sampling. Data will be classified in terms of year of graduation (recent and in a range of 5 year period), current employment status, salary, computer proficiency and the use of information technology. This data will be compared on the basis of demographics where a comparison will be made according to gender and economic status (individuals with an urban and a rural background). The data will be collected from the participants using a questionnaire where focus group interviews will also take place. Both the tools will assess responses in the genre/ variable mentioned previously. The statements incorporated in the questionnaire would be analyzed on a 5 point likert scale used to assess agreement/disagreement to a statement. The responses collected from employed individuals will then be validated from the organizations they work in by taking thorough insight regarding the use of information technology in their related jobs.
In order to ensure the usability and accuracy of the instrument, the questionnaire would be distributed amongst 20 participants who would not only respond to the tool but also assess its effectiveness. This will be done by looking at the way statements are phrased and individual feedback would be provided according to which, the initial questionnaire would be modified to be given to the larger sample of the study. The reliability of the measure would be analyzed using Cronbach’s alpha where a value closer to 1 will regard the instrument on the intensity of reliability. The responses obtained will be coded and analyzed using SPSS (Peterson, 1994).

Results

The results show a closer percentage of males (49%) and females (51%) where majority of the respondents were between ages 20 to 25 and about 27.5% were above 25 years of age. 130 of these individuals were employed in contrast to 70 unemployed respondents. The results demonstrate a mix of individuals who graduated in the last 5 years, each category having a substantial amount of respondents. While 45% of the respondents belonged to a rural institute, majority of the participants were from urban educational institute. In addition, majority of the paritipants were seen to be at an intermediate level of computer proficiency.
The above table represents employment data in terms of year of graduation. It can however be seen that although employment is not really linked to the years of graduation but unemployment is. In other words, recent graduates still struggle with jobs.
The majority of the employed individuals belonged to an urban institute whereas unemployment rate was almost similar for individuals belonging to rural and urban institutes.
In order to analyze the relationship between computer proficiency and employment status, correlation and regression analysis was conducted. Results show a moderately positive relationship between the two factors but, computer proficiency is not a strong predictor of getting a job.
An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the use of technology at workplace scores for males and females. There was no significant difference in scores for males (N=61, S.D= .98) and females (N=69, S.D= .938; t (128)= 1.943, p=.05 , two-tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the mean (mean difference= -.327, 95%Cl: -.660 to .006) was very small (eta squared= 0.028).
In a similar manner, another independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the computer proficiency level amongst males and females. There was no significant difference in scores for males (N=98, S.D= .713) and females (N=102, S.D= .68; t (198)= .704, p=.502 , two-tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the mean (mean difference= .074, 95%Cl: -.133 to .281) was very small (eta squared= 0.002).
In a similar manner, another independent samples t-test was conducted to compare the computer proficiency level individuals belonging to a rural and an urban educational institute. There was a significant difference in scores for rural (N=90, S.D= .680) and urban (N=110, S.D= .765; t (198) =2.821, p=.005 , two-tailed). The magnitude of the differences in the mean (mean difference= .292, 95%Cl: .088 to .496) was a moderately small (eta squared= 0.03).

Discussion

The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of computer proficiency in getting a job in relation to gender difference. The results of the research have however revealed that gender neither affected the use of technology at workplace nor the level of computer proficiency. However, it was the rural and urban educational background of individuals that affected their level of computer proficiency where individuals coming from urban institutes were seen to be more proficient. Also, computer proficiency did not affect employment status to greater extent pointing at the broader issue of other factors like experience, education level and skills, to be important factors of employment. Although the years of graduation did not determine whether a person is employed or unemployed, it was seen that recently graduated individuals were mainly unemployed. However, their unemployment was not to be attributed to their computer skills. As a matter of fact, it was seen that computers were extensively used at the workplace pointing at the need of computer knowledge vital to get a job, to work and to climb the ladder.

Conclusion

Thus, as proposed by the existing literature, computer proficiency in terms of gender is not related to employment. Although, individuals are required to use technology at the office, even basic computer knowledge can do the work. It is usually the on-going trainings and seminars that polish technological skills of its employees. The current study therefore concludes that instead of focusing on gender related computer proficiency, scholars must look at other important factors that are substantial for employment.

REFERENCES

Hodson, R. (1989). Gender difference in job satisfaction. The Sociological quarterly, 30(3): 35-399.
Peterson, R. A. (1994). A meta-analysis of Cronbach’s coefficient alpha. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 381 – 391
Sarfo, F. (2011). Technology and gender equity: Rural and urban students’ attitudes towards information and technology. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 3(6): 221-230.
Shashaani, L., & Khalili, A. (2001). Gender and computers: Similarities and differences in Iranian college students’ attitudes toward computers. Computers & Education, 37(3), 363-375.
The Women’s Foundation (2006). The status of women and girls in Hong Kong 2006. Hong Kong: The Women’s Foundation and The Fund for Women in Asia, Inc
Wong, S. L., & Hanafi, A. (2007). Gender Differences in Attitudes towards Information Technology among Malaysian Student Teachers: A Case Study at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Educational Technology & Society, 10(2), 158-169.
Yau, H. (2012). Gender difference of confidence in using technology for learning. Journal of Technology Studies, 38(2), 1-5
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