Inferential statistics is a branch of statistics that involves using data from a small sample to make inferences for a larger population. So, these conclusions are based on probability theory, not certainty (Allua & Thompson, 2009). In Montañez-Juan's paper, a study was presented to examine the relationship between work design, organizational justice, and job satisfaction.
The hypotheses of the article:
According to Montañez-Juan et al. (2019), the hypotheses made in the article are as follows:
H1: Work design is positively associated with job satisfaction. Employees who can use their skills will be more job satisfaction than others.
H2: Organizational justice is positively associated with job satisfaction. Employees who think the organization is fair have more job satisfaction than others.
H3: Organizational justice mediates the relationship between work design and job satisfaction. That is, designing work that is appropriate to employee skills and job satisfaction is linked to the organization being fair.
Sampling Methodology:
The precise methodology in this study is called the "Convenience Sample," meaning that the participants were not chosen randomly but directly by the researchers themselves (Sedgwick, 2013). This type of sampling is not ideal because it can lead to clear bias in the results, but on the other hand, it is easier and cheaper than a "Random Sample" and is used in studies with limited resources.
For example, in this study, the participants were employees of 42 Spanish companies. The researchers contacted the companies and asked them to participate in the study. The companies then selected the employees to participate; therefore, it is possible that the participants were only representatives of some employees in Spain.
Validity of the representative sample:
Results in this type of sampling are difficult to generalize to the country in which it was conducted or any other country as the sample is not random, leading to some bias in the results (Omair, 2014). Two reasons can be adopted to confirm the study's validity: the measures used for work design, organizational justice, and job satisfaction, and the relationship between them are well-established, and their degree of validity is high and acceptable in the business world. The other reason is that the study used a relatively large sample of employees, but it is difficult to say definitively whether or not the researchers collected a representative sample.
Application to all population:
There are several reasons for not applying the study's results to the entire population, including the fact that the study was conducted in Spain, which is inappropriate for other countries. Also, the use of appropriate sampling makes its results biased. Finally, the study chose specific industries and employees, so they cannot represent the entire population (Montañez-Juan et al., 2019).
Conclusion
The study generally represents an accepted theoretical view on the relationship between work design, organizational justice, and job satisfaction. The study supported its three hypotheses: organizations can improve job satisfaction by designing jobs suitable for employees' abilities and creating a more organized and fair work environment.
References
Allua, S., & Thompson, C. B. (2009). Inferential statistics. Air Medical Journal, 28(4), 168-171.
Montañez-Juan, M. I., García-Buades, M. E., Sora-Miana, B., Ortiz-Bonnín, S., & Caballer-Hernández, A. (2019). Work design and job satisfaction: The moderating role of organizational justice. Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho, 19(4), 853–858. Retrieved from EBSCO multi-search https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=905274f4-e65c-4788-ac45-7afecb787f60%40redis
Omair, A. (2014). Sample size estimation and sampling techniques for selecting a representative sample. Journal of Health specialties, 2(4), 142.
Sedgwick, P. (2013). Convenience sampling. Bmj, 347. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291161903_Convenience_sampling