An Assessment of Students Job Preference Using a Discrete Choice Experiment: a postgraduate case study

Gyarteng-Mensah, H. and Owusu-Manu, D. and Edwards, D.J. and Baidoo, D.J. and El-Gohary, Hatem (2021) An Assessment of Students Job Preference Using a Discrete Choice Experiment: a postgraduate case study. Journal of Humanities and Applied Sciences. ISSN 2636-4182

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Abstract

Purpose: Using a discrete choice experiment (DCE), this study aims to better understand the job preference of postgraduate students studying at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology-Institute of Distance Learning (KNUST-IDL), Ghana and also rank the attributes of a job they deem important.
Methodology: The research adopted a positivist epistemological design contextualised within an deductive approach and case study strategy. Primary survey data was collected from a stratified random sample of 128 postgraduate students with multi-sectorial career prospects. Sample students were subjected to a DCE in which their stated preferences were collected using closed ended questionnaires with twenty-eight pairs of hypothetical job profiles. Respondents’ preferences from the DCE data were then modelled using the conditional logit.
Findings: The research reveals that: salary in the range GHC 2,800.00 to GHC 3,400.00 ($1=GHS 5.3); supportive management; very challenging jobs; and jobs located in the city were the top attributes that were significant and had the most impact in increasing the utility of selecting a particular job. Interestingly, jobs with no extra hours workload was not significant hence, had a negative impact upon student preferences.
Originality: This novel research is the first to utilise a DCE to better elicit preference and trade-offs of postgraduate students in a developing country towards varying job characteristics that have an impact on their future employment decisions. Knowledge advancements made provide invaluable insight to employers and policy makers on the key criteria that should be implemented in order to retain the best candidate.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1108/JHASS-02-2020-0025
Dates:	Date Event 7 December 2020 Accepted 11 January 2021 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Utility, preference, attributes, postgraduate students, discrete choice experiment
Subjects:	CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-01 - architecture CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-02 - building CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-04 - planning (urban, rural and regional)
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > College of Built Environment
Depositing User:	David Edwards
Date Deposited:	08 Dec 2020 10:59
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2024 11:45
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/10503

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