gender differential paper IJCRB

ijcrb.webs.com
JUNE 2011
INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS VOL 3, NO 2
of social pressures”. All responses are measured on a five point Likert scale with “1” as strongly
disagree and “5” as strongly agree. The survey also included respondent’s profile which includes
data pertaining to their education, age, marital status, cast and sex. Respondent’s perception
towards halal foods was measured through open ended question at the end.
3.5 Data collection
The questionnaires were not personally administered and student volunteers were hired to assist
in the whole process. The whole procedure of data collection was done meticulously and a pack
of 30 questionnaires were dispatched for each chosen sample from representative clusters.
3.6 Hypothesis
With the help of secondary data and insights from the in-depth interviews and focus group
hypothesis were generated to test the correlation amongst five constructs;(a) religious beliefs;(b)
religious commitment;(c) awareness towards halal food;(d) attitude towards halal food;(e)
identity.
4.0 Data analysis
4.1 Reliability Analysis
Data has been analyzed using SPSS version 19. The internal consistency was measured through
Cronbach’s Alpha or Coefficient alpha ranges from 0-1. Researchers generally consider an alpha
of 0.7 as minimum however lower values are also acceptable depending upon the situation (Hair
& Babin & Money and Samouel, 2005). In one of the previous researches whereby linking
religiosity with consumer behavior Moschis & Ong (2011) have measured religious
commitment, beliefs and behavior using a four item scale that measures various dimensions of
religiosity. Based on the findings of reliability scores from past researches we can safely infer
that items measuring religious beliefs, religious commitment and attitude towards halal food
have high internal consistencies. Awareness of halal food and identity indicates lower reliability
but a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.5 or higher is also acceptable in some social science
studies (Kerlinger & Lee 2000).
Table 1: Instrument’s Reliability
Construct No of items α
Religious belief 5 0.76
Religious commitment 5 0.71
Awareness of halal food 8 0.58
Attitude towards halal food 9 0.81
Identity 7 0.54
4.2 Instrument Validity
The five constructs that have been used to measure religiosity are based on significant findings
from earlier studies, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. Religious beliefs are based
on the five basic pillars of Islam; Oneness of Allah and Mohammad (saw) as his last prophet,
Salah (prayers), Fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, Zakat (giving alms to the poor) and
pilgrimage to Holy Mecca. According to sayings of holy prophet (peace be upon him): Narrated
Ibn 'Umar: Allah's Apostle said: Islam is based on (the following) five (principles):
• To testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's
Apostle.
• To offer the (compulsory congregational) prayers dutifully and perfectly.
• To observe fast during the month of Ramadan.
• To pay Zakat (i.e. obligatory charity) .
• To perform Hajj. (I.e. Pilgrimage to Mecca)
(Abed al Latif-al-Zabidi, 2006)
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