Author(s): Santhosh Kumar, Dinesh.N, Periasamy P
The purpose of a survey is to use questionnaires or interviews to collect data from participants in a sample about their characteristics, experiences and opinions in order to generalize the findings to a population that the sample is intended to represent. A survey or questionnaire provides structure and standardization in the research design. It also provides the opportunity to gather large amounts of data from many respondents. A questionnaire was designed for B school alumni to study the effect of soft skills training on employability of B-School graduates in Bangalore. Measurement Model (Structural Equation Modelling - SEM) was used to establish convergent validity, discriminant validity and reliability of the above questionnaire before conducting the survey. Validity represents the capacity of an instrument/ questionnaire to ascertain what it claims to measure. Convergent validity is proven when constructs that are similar respond to one another, while Discriminant validity is said to exist if we can sufficiently differentiate two of the dissimilar constructs. Any research instrument must be totally concerned with accuracy leading to dependability, otherwise called as reliability. A reliable instrument supposes to consistently measure whatever is measured over time. The main objective of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the research instrument used to study the effect of soft skills training on employability of B-School graduates.