Job Satisfaction Study - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations
From IELTS Recent Actual Test 5 Academic Listening Test 6 · Part 4 · Questions 31–40
Audio
Questions
Questions 31–40 Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below.
Write NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer.
- Workers involved in the study were hired at a 31.
- In spite of some obvious differences between groups of workers, the survey was statistically 32.
- The speaker analysed the study's 33 to identify any problems with it.
- The various subgroups were 34 in size.
- Workers in the part-time group were mainly 35.
- The 36 of workers who agreed to take part in the study was disappointing.
- Researchers were unable to 37 the circumstances where employees filled out the questionnaire.
- In future, the overall size of the 38 should be increased.
- In the studies, workers should be prevented from having discussions with 39.
- Workers should be reassured that their responses to questions are 40.
Answers & Explanations Summary
| # | Answer | Evidence | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q31 | call centre | For this reason, employees at a call centre had been interviewed by filling in a questionnaire about their work | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the researchers talked to workers who work at a call centre and asked them to answer some questions about their job. Answer Explanation: The answer "call centre" is the specific place where the employees who participated in the research work. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is correct because the speaker explicitly states that the study involved employees from a call centre. The phrase 'at a' in the sentence 'employees at a call centre' shows that this is the location or type of workplace where the study's participants were hired. |
| Q32 | inconclusive | Although it seemed these results sounded interesting and capable of explanation, perhaps the most crucial thing to mention here is that in statistical terms they were inconclusive | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that even though the findings appeared interesting, they did not provide a definite or final result when looking at the numbers. Answer Explanation: The answer means that the results of the study did not give a clear or definite answer. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is inconclusive because the speaker directly states that while the results showed some patterns (differences between groups), they were not solid enough to be certain. The speaker uses the phrase "statistical terms" which matches the word "statistically" in the question to describe how the results lacked a final, firm conclusion. |
| Q33 | methodology | Therefore, I can pay higher attention to the methodology applied by the researchers, to figure out where problems may have aroused | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript shows that the speaker decided to carefully check the plan or system used for the study to find any mistakes that occurred during the work. Answer Explanation: The answer 'methodology' means the specific way, plan, or system that researchers use to conduct a study. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'methodology' because the speaker explains that since the survey results were not clear or definite, they needed to look closely at the 'methodology' (the research process) to 'figure out' or identify where any 'problems' or mistakes might have happened. |
| Q34 | unequal | Also, between those separate subgroups, the numbers were unequal | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that when the researchers divided the workers into smaller groups, the amount of people in each group was different from one another. Answer Explanation: The answer "unequal" means that the number of people in each small group was not the same. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "unequal" because the speaker discusses how the 223 workers were split into smaller groups (subgroups) like full-time and part-time. The speaker mentions that the number of people in these groups did not match. For example, there were many more full-time workers (154) than part-time workers (69), and many more women than men in the part-time group. This difference in group sizes is described by the keyword "unequal." |
| Q35 | female | And only 10 of them in the part-time group were male, compared to the rest of 59 who were female | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that in the part-time group, there were 10 men and 59 women. This shows that a much larger number of women participated in that specific part of the survey compared to men. Answer Explanation: The answer 'female' means that most of the workers in the group working part-time hours were women. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is based on the specific numbers provided for the part-time subgroup. The group had 69 people in total, but only 10 were men. The speaker notes that the other 59 people were women. Since 59 is a much larger number than 10, it means the group was mostly, or 'mainly', female. |
| Q36 | response | In addition, although quite a large quantity of workers were interviewed in the survey, the response has been disappointingly low, with a couple of them just ignoring the invitation | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that even though many workers were asked to join the study, not many of them did. Some people just ignored the request, which was a disappointing result for the researchers. Answer Explanation: The answer 'response' refers to how many people actually replied to the survey and agreed to participate in the study. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is 'response' because the speaker mentions that many workers were contacted for the survey, but many of them did not answer. The speaker specifically uses the word 'disappointingly' to describe this low level of participation, which matches the description in the question. |
| Q37 | control | Also, as the questionnaires had been posted to the call centre for distribution, the researchers had had minimal control over the conditions in which participants completed them | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that since the survey forms were mailed to the workplace for the workers to handle, the people running the study were not able to manage or watch over how the employees filled them out. Answer Explanation: The answer "control" means to be in charge of something or to manage the way something happens. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "control" because the speaker explains that the researchers sent the survey papers to the office instead of being there in person. This meant they had "minimal control," or almost no power, to manage the environment or "conditions" where the workers wrote their answers. This lack of management is a problem the speaker identified. |
| Q38 | sample | First, a target sample size should be much larger | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that the group of people chosen for a study, called the 'sample,' needs to be much bigger in the future. Answer Explanation: The answer, "sample," refers to the group of people who are chosen to participate in a study or survey. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "sample" because the speaker suggests that for future research, the number of people participating in the study, also known as the 'sample size,' needs to be bigger. This is mentioned when proposing ways to fix problems found in the original study. |
| Q39 | other colleagues | And they should require the workers to complete the questionnaire under supervised conditions so that the likelihood of the impacts from other colleagues is eliminated | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript explains that researchers should watch over the workers as they answer the survey. This is done so that the workers' friends or coworkers at the office do not influence their answers. Answer Explanation: The answer "other colleagues" refers to the people that a person works with in the same company. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is "other colleagues" because the speaker suggests that in future studies, workers should be watched while they complete the survey. This is to stop them from being influenced by their co-workers, which the speaker calls "other colleagues." By having someone watch them, the researchers can make sure the workers' answers are their own and not affected by what others say. |
| Q40 | confidential | Finally, as workers may be unwilling to mention the details of their job satisfaction, when they are on work premises, it's critical that the researchers reassure their responses will keep confidential, and also that they have the right to withdraw from the study at any time if they want to | Excerpt/Transcript Explanation: The transcript says that because workers might be afraid to talk about their jobs while at work, the people doing the study must promise them that their answers will be kept private. Answer Explanation: The answer "confidential" means that the information provided by the workers will be kept private and secret. Reason For Correctness: The correct answer is supported by the speaker's suggestion for future studies. To make workers feel safe and honest about their feelings, researchers need to promise that no one else will see their answers. The speaker uses the word "reassure" to explain that researchers must tell workers their information is secret, which matches the keyword "confidential" used in the transcript. |
Transcript
Hello, everyone! Today, I would like to talk about an assignment that I did recently. The brief of my presentation was to analyse the methods used in a small survey about job satisfaction and then to put forward some suggestions for further researches in the similar field. The correlation between differences in gender and differences in working hours, and levels of job satisfaction among employees have been investigated in the study I conducted. For this reason, employees at a call centre had been interviewed by filling in a questionnaire about their work. Now, I'll briefly introduce the summary of the study findings.
One primary conclusion I've got is female full-time workers gained slightly higher levels of job satisfaction than male ones. More interestingly, among all the female workers, female workers on a part-time basis reported somewhat higher levels of satisfaction than the full-time ones did. On the contrary, from the perspective of male employees, part-time male workers held slightly less job satisfaction than how much the full-time ones felt. Although it seemed these results sounded interesting and capable of explanation, perhaps the most crucial thing to mention here is that in statistical terms they were inconclusive.
I was personally shocked at the fact that the results hadn't been more definite, because I would have predicted to see both men and women, as well as full and part-time workers, would go into various levels of satisfaction. Therefore, I can pay higher attention to the methodology applied by the researchers, to figure out where problems may have aroused. So, the next part of the presentation today is detailed aspects of what I found.
First, it is probable that the sample size was too small since the total number of workers who did the questionnaire in the survey was 223, which perhaps sounds quite a lot. But they had to be divided up into several subgroups. Also, between those separate subgroups, the numbers were unequal. For instance, in the full-time group there were 154 samples, but only 69 in the part-time group. And only 10 of them in the part-time group were male, compared to the rest of 59 who were female. In addition, although quite a large quantity of workers were interviewed in the survey, the response has been disappointingly low, with a couple of them just ignoring the invitation. And workers who did respond may have differed in important perspectives from those who didn't. Also, as the questionnaires had been posted to the call centre for distribution, the researchers had had minimal control over the conditions in which participants completed them. For example, their responses to questions may have caused the results to be biased.
In the last part of my assignment, there were some possible suggestions made for a similar study, which attempts to remove the problems that I've just mentioned before. First, a target sample size should be much larger, and consideration should be taken to make sure equal numbers of both genders and both full-time and part-time workers are surveyed. Second, the researchers should recheck that they are present to administer the questionnaires to the workers themselves. And they should require the workers to complete the questionnaire under supervised conditions so that the likelihood of the impacts from other colleagues is eliminated. Finally, as workers may be unwilling to mention the details of their job satisfaction, when they are on work premises, it's critical that the researchers reassure their responses will keep confidential, and also that they have the right to withdraw from the study at any time if they want to. In this case, it is possible that the responses to the questionnaires get increasing reliability and any comparisons that are made are more valid.
Well, that was a summary of my assignment, does anyone have any questions?