Trends in research design and data analytic strategies in organizational research

Journal of Management, Spring, 1995 by Eugene F. Stone-Romero, Amy E. Weaver, Jennifer L. Glenar

Interestingly the PUIs for classical path analysis were below 6% for the entire 1975-1993 period. Moreover, the PUI for this strategy dropped to 0% by 1993. Overall, however, there was no stable trend in the use of this technique over the 19 year study period: The zero-order correlation between time and the PUIs for path analysis was .42 (p [greater than] .05).

The PUIs for exploratory factor analysis were generally below 10% for the 1975-1993 period and averaged only 8.45% for the entire period. Although an inspection of Figure 3 suggests that there was a slight decrease in the use of exploratory factor analysis, the zero-order correlation between time and the PUIs for exploratory factor analysis was a mere -. 18 (p [greater than] .05).

Figure 4 shows trends in the use of CSA techniques that test three different models: (1) measurement models only; (2) structural models only; and (3) both measurement and structural models (full models). For purposes of comparison the same figure also shows PUI levels for classical path analysis and exploratory factor analysis. As can be seen in the figure, there were no tests of measurement models in the 1975-1984 period. However, by 1993 the PUI for CSA-based tests of measurement models was 8.16%. Overall, there was a consistent upward trend in the PUIs for CSA-based tests of measurement models: The zero-order correlation between time and the PUIs for CSA-based tests of such models was .86 (p [less than] .01).

At the same time as the use of CSA-based tests of measurement models increased, there was no similar trend in the use of exploratory factor analysis: The zero order correlation between time and the PUIs for exploratory factor analysis was -.18 (p [greater than] .05). Interestingly, however, although the PUIs for exploratory factor analyses reached levels of 15.25% in 1976, 16.04% in 1982, 11.34% in 1986, and 11.83% in 1987, in the 1990s the PUIs for this procedure never exceeded 10%. Moreover, the 1993 PUI for exploratory factor analysis was only 6.12%.

As the results in Figure 4 suggest, over the study period there was an increase in the use of CSA procedures for testing structural models: The zero-order correlation between time and the PUIs for CSA-based tests of structural models was .62 (p [less than] .01). Note also that there was: (1) a .68 (p [less than] .01) correlation between the PUIs for CSA-based tests of structural models and CSA-based tests of measurement models; and (2) a .84 (p [less than] .01) correlation between CSA-based tests of structural models and CSA-based tests of full models. These results suggest concomitant increases in the use of the three CSA-based procedures.

Figure 4 also shows that although there was only one report of a CSA-based test of a full model in the 1975-1985 period, by 1993, 10.20% of the published articles reported such tests. Moreover, the zero-order correlation between time and the PUIs for full model tests was .84 (p [less than] .01). Overall, there was a dramatic rise in the use of CSA-based tests of full models over the 1975-1993 period.