Chapter III: Methodology

This chapter indicates what approach and techniques were used in the study to analyze the data.
This chapter includes five distinct sub-sections – research approach, sampling method, variable
measurement, data collection strategy and statistic model(s)
3.1 Research approach
Quantitative and qualitative are the most common research methodologies (Bryman,
2006; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). Quantitative research can be utilized to test the research
hypotheses and evaluate the influence of the independent variables on the dependent variable.
This paper will apply quantitative research to find out the impacts of five independent variables,
which are (1) work environment, (2) pay and benefits, (3) management systems, (4) result
feedback and motivation, and (5) respect on the job satisfaction of university teachers in Thu
Dau Mot city.
The primary data were collected by directly delivering questionnaires to university
teachers in Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong province. The information will be collected through
web pages such as Google Forms for its benefits, such as low cost and time-consuming.
3.2 Sampling method
The data were collected from teachers working at universities in Thu Dau Mot city, Binh
Duong province, by delivering questionnaires. The sampling methods used for this study are
convenience and snowball sampling. Convenience sampling is a type of nonprobability or
nonrandom sampling where members of the target population that meet certain practical criteria
with an easily accessible, available and cost-effective sample (Etikan, 2016). Snowball sampling
is a non - probability form of survey sample selection, also known as chain referral sampling,
and is often used to discover unusual or difficult-to-find populations (Johnson, 2014).
According to Hair, Black, Babin and Anderson (2009), the formula to calculate the
sample size as below:
n= 5*m
Where:
n is the sample size
m is the number of variables items
This paper utilizes 31 items. Therefore, according to the formula above, the sample size
should be:
 n = 5 * 31 = 155
As the calculation above, this study's questionnaire contains at least 155 responses. Those
respondents must be representative samples of the population of university teachers working in
Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong province.
3.3 Variable measurement
This study is divided into 2 sections:
(1) Factors affect job satisfaction on university teachers
This data was collected through a survey based on the questionnaire. In addition, the
research will apply a 5-point Likert rating scale to measure five independent variables, including
(1) working environment, (2) pay and benefits, (3) management systems, (4) result feedback and
motivation, (5) respect and one dependent variable which is job satisfaction. A 5-point Likert
rating scales uses score from 1 to 5 to represent 1=Absolutely disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral,
4=Agree, 5=Absolutely agree, respectively, and is utilized to collect primary data sufficiently
and effectively to process it easily.
Independent variables and its measurement items
Variables Code Items Citations
My university provides abundant library
WE1
facilities
My university provides completed teaching
WE2
instruments
Work
My office or my area of work is comfortable (Chen et al., 2006)
environment WE3
and safe
WE4 My university provides convenient parking
My university provides hygienic dining
WE5
environments
Pay and My university provides good salaries (Chen et al., 2006)
PB1
Benefits systems
My university provides working security
PB2
systems
PB3 My university provides good retirement
systems
 My university provides lodging, travel
PB4
related welfare allowances
My university provides subsidies for further
PB5
education
My university provides fair promotion
MS1
systems
My university provides good management
MS2
systems
My university provides high-quality service
MS3
Management processes
(Chen et al., 2006)
systems Directors with leadership and managerial
MS4
capacity
My university introduces innovation
MS5
management systems
My university has a clear system of rewards
MS6
and penalties
My university recognizes achievements of
RFM1
teaching and research of teachers
RFM2 My university provides achievement rewards
Result My university has rewards and glorification
RFM3
feedback and for outstanding performances (Chen et al., 2006)
motivation My university supports for the results of
RFM4
teaching and research
My university allows teachers to know
RFM5
school’s operating conditions
Respect Professional knowledge is respected by (Chen et al., 2006)
RE1
superiors
RE2 Mutual respect among teachers
RE3 Respect for their teachers by students
RE4 Students’ outstanding performances in class
RE5 My department respect other departments
 My department is respected by others
RE6
departments

Dependent variables and its measurement items

Variables Code Items Citations
JS1 I am satisfied with my job
JS2 I feel valued by superiors
Job
JS3 I enjoy my work most of the day (Ong et al., 2020)
satisfaction
The major satisfaction in my life comes from
JS4
my job

(2) Demographic classification

Additionally, this study has a demographic classification. Multiple choice questions are
used to identify gender and age groups as well as define university teachers in Thu Dau Mot city.
There are also several demographic questions as below:
1. Are you a teacher at a university in Thu Dau Mot city?
a. Yes
b. No
2. What is your gender?
a. Male
b. Female
c. Other
3. How old are you?
a. 20-29 years old
b. 30-39 years old
c. 40-49 years old
d. Above 49 years old
4. What is your education level?
a. Bachelor’s
b. Masters
 c. PhD
5. How long have you been teaching at your university?
a. Less than 1 year
b. 1-5 years
c. 6-10 years
d. 11-15 years
e. Above 15 years
6. How much is your monthly income?
a. Less than 5 million VND
b. 5 to 10 million VND
c. 10 to 15 million VND
d. More than 15 million VND
3.4 Data collection strategy
This survey instrument will be separated into two sections. In section 1, it would include
31 questions to examine the factors influencing the job satisfaction of university teachers and
identify which is the main factor that has a big impact on them. Section 2 will contain a question
to select the responses of people working at a university in Thu Dau Mot city, Binh Duong
province. After that, the respondents will be asked for some demographic information such as
age, gender, education level, year of experience and income.
The survey will be translated to Vietnamese to satisfy the Vietnam context so it will have
both Vietnamese and English version for convenience. To collect the data, the survey will use
Google form for those who would like to conduct the survey online. Meanwhile, the survey will
be printed for those who would like to conduct the survey on paper. Finally, to examine and
validate the primary data, we used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 26
(SPSS26).
The question “Are you a teacher at a university in Thu Dau Mot city?” was added to the
survey to get information from the right people. If they respond affirmatively, they will proceed
to complete the survey.
3.5 Statistic model(s)
3.5.1 Descriptive statistics
 Descriptive statistics are the numerical and graphical techniques used to organize, present
and analyze data. The form of descriptive statistics that is used to describe a variable in a sample
is dependent on the level of measurement that has been used (Fisher & Marshall, 2009). It
enables us to draw conclusions beyond the evidence we have examined or to reach conclusions
about any theories we have proposed.
3.5.2 Reliability testing
Reliability testing or Cronbach’s alpha provides a measure of the internal consistency of
a test or scale. It has a scale of 0 to 1. If Cronbach's alpha is greater than 0.7, the scale is
considered accurate (Nunnally, 1978). However, according to a preliminary exploratory research,
Cronbach's Alpha of 0.6 is also acceptable.
3.5.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)
Following the reliability test, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is used to condense data
to a smaller number of variables and reveal the phenomena’ underlying theoretical framework
(Taherdoost et al., 2014).
3.5.4 Correlation test
The correlation matrix shows the correlation coefficients among variables. It is used to
test the dependences among multiple variables at the same time and to see whether there is
multicollinearity in the data set or not (Yurdakul & Tansel İÇ, 2009).
3.5.5 Multiple linear regressions (MLR)
MLR is a statistical technique to investigate the relationships between a collected
independent variable and a single dependent variable. In this paper, MLR is used for testing the
five hypotheses including the relationship between work environment, pay and benefits,
management system, result feedback and motivation, respect and job satisfaction.
According to Moore, et el. 2006, the general formula of multiple regression is as
following:
Y =a+b1 x 1+ b2 x 2 +…+b n x n
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