RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR HRM 7BSP1298-0901-2018 Abstract 4 INTRODUCTION 5 Research Objectives 5 Research Questions 5 Hypothesis 5 Research Hypothesis 5 LITERATURE REVIEW6 Research METHODOLOGY

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR HRM 7BSP1298-0901-2018 Abstract 4 INTRODUCTION 5 Research Objectives 5 Research Questions 5 Research Hypothesis 5 LITERATURE REVIEW6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY7 Research Design 7 Data Collection 7 Participants 7 Resources and Instruments 8 Procedure8 Qualitative method 8 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS9 Descriptive Statistics 9 Correlation Analysis9 Team Work12 Innovation 12 Supervisory Support 12 Job Satisfaction 13 Organisation Commitment13 Gender Differences 13 Employee Engagement and Experience14 Employee Engagement and Age

POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR HRM
7BSP1298-0901-2018

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
Research Objectives....................................................................................................................5
Research Questions.....................................................................................................................5
Research Hypothesis...................................................................................................................5
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................................................6
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................7
Research Design..........................................................................................................................7
Data Collection............................................................................................................................7
Participants..................................................................................................................................7
Resources and Instruments..........................................................................................................8
Procedure.....................................................................................................................................8
Qualitative method .....................................................................................................................8
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...........................................................................................9
Descriptive Statistics...................................................................................................................9
Correlation Analysis....................................................................................................................9
Team Work...........................................................................................................................12
Innovation.............................................................................................................................12
Supervisory Support.............................................................................................................12
Job Satisfaction.....................................................................................................................13
Organisation Commitment...................................................................................................13
Gender Differences...............................................................................................................13
Employee Engagement and Experience...............................................................................14
Employee Engagement and Age..........................................................................................15
Recommendations to Organisation................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17
Appendices.....................................................................................................................................18
Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire...........................................................................................18
Appendix 2: Pearson Correlation..............................................................................................22

Abstract
This research paper aims to examine the impact of various pre-identified factors from the
literature on employee engagement. A survey questionnaire was designed to assess the relation
of variables with employee engagement. The independent variables in this research include
teamwork, innovation, company management and development opportunities. The research
design is explanatory, qualitative and descriptive. The cross-sectional survey was used where the
questionnaire was sent using an online questionnaire. The questionnaire measured responses
using the Likert scale and consists of 5 questions which were further divided into 5 subsections
having 21 items to measure the variables influencing employee engagement. The 60
questionnaires were distributed online to the employees from various sectors. The data collected
were descriptively analysed and then correlation and regression were performed using the SPSS
analytical tool. The research revealed that these three variables have a significant effect on
employee engagement and are positively correlated.

INTRODUCTION
Employee engagement is considered an essential factor that leads to greater productivity,
quality of service, innovation and more employee satisfaction. Due to its multiple benefits, this is
considered as key priorities of the business resulting in more researches (Shuck and Wollard,
2010). There is a need for identifying various factors that help in increasing the employee
engagement so that business can create a culture of higher employee engagement.
Research Objectives
 To analyse the impact of organisation teamwork on the employee engagement.
 To analyse the effect of an organisation’s management on the engagement of employees.
 The effect of the employee development on employee engagement.
Research Questions
 The relationship between teamwork and employee engagement
 The relationship between employee engagement and the organisation's management.
 The relationship between employee development and employee engagement.
 The relationship between innovation and employee engagement.
Research Hypothesis
H1= it is hypothesised that the organisations with more teamwork have higher employee
engagement.
H2= it is hypothesised that organisation with more supervisory support have higher
employee engagement.
H3= it is hypothesised that organisation with more innovation acceptance have higher
employee engagement.
H4: Significant difference between gender for employee engagement.

H5: there is significant difference in the employee engagement and age.
H6: there is significant difference in the employee engagement due to experience of the
employee.
LITERATURE REVIEW
There is an increase in the research on employee engagement and its antecedents and
precedents. Where many researchers focusing on the improvement in employee engagement
there was plenty of research which assesses the consequences of increased employee
engagement. Nailing the Evidence report on the engagement for success determined that greater
engagement leads to more innovation, less absenteeism and greater employee retention. The
study focused on the employees within the UK was conducted using the survey method where
the questionnaires were administered to the UK companies’ employees (Albrech, 2011). The
research suggested a high correlation between organisational productivity and employee
engagement. Further in some organisation where there was disengagement the productivity was
less. The method for data analysis was regression using statistical software (MacLeod and
Clarke, 2009).
Human resource society of the US also conducted research on the employee engagement
with a sample size of 600 employees. They assessed around 30 aspects of the organisation
engagement and 40 aspects of job satisfaction (Luthans and Peterson, 2002). Further concluded
the overall research into key essential areas; work environment, employee relations,
compensation, engagement behaviours, benefits and engagement opinions. The research
efficiently identified satisfaction and engagement causes, however, the outcomes associated both
were neglected.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
This study used a mixture of the descriptive and statistical approach to measure the
correlation between selected variables. The descriptive approach using a conceptual framework
will help to define the hypothesis and correlations using theoretical frameworks (Saks, 2006).
The statistical analysis will help in analysing the primary collected data using questionnaire
where the responses of the subjects will be measured against three independent variables using
correlation and regression analysis.
Data Collection
A quantitative method for data collection is used in this research. The selected method
that surveys will maximise the reliability, objectivity and will help in prediction (Harter, et.al.,
2002). This test avoids and human perceptions and biases because of the use of the quantitative
method. In addition to this, there will be statistical analyses which will increase the research
validity and reliability because the results will be numerical, objectives and easily measurable.
Further, the predictivity of the research will also be an advantage because of the numerical
results (Gruman and Saks, 2011). The questionnaire was administered online which decreased
the cost and increased the accessibility.
Participants
The sample size was selected using random sampling techniques within the public and
private sector of the UK business, where the employees were contacted based on university,
personal and social reference. Total numbers of a questionnaire sent were 60 where the received
questionnaire was 50. The sample characteristics include a mixed population and the number of
male and female was equal that is 24 female and 26 males. The surveyed individuals had 0 to 13

year of experience where around 40% have 1- 3 year of experience, 20% with 4-8 years and 20%
with 0-1 year and 10% with 13 years of experience.
The average age of the participants was 60% between 26-35, 20% between 18-25 and
remaining 10% between 36 to 45 and 44 to 55.
Resources and Instruments
Resources include questionnaires, internet, statistical software and access to sampling
participants. The survey includes 21 items. The first section measured the experience and
demographics of the sample. The second section included 5 questions on the Likert scale which
measured the innovation and reward for new ideas. The third section included the questions
related to organisation management and the fourth section included questions related to
employee development. The last section tried to measure the teamwork within the organisation.
A Likert scale developed by Rensis Likert which is a psychometric scale used mostly in the
questionnaire where the responses are measured on a scale (Macey and Schneider, 2008).
Procedure
The procedure for conducting the survey include the online questionnaire which was sent
to the employees using the email link. Firstly, the email contact was received through personal
and social reference, after that each employee was contacted if they are willing to give a
response. Than the questionnaires were sent and on another day the remainder was left. The total
150 questionnaires were sent through this and 128 were received.
Qualitative method
The qualitative method uses the opinions and thoughts of the respondents while
conducting the research. It is exploratory research which uses the non- numerical data for the
conducting the research. It uses the thoughts and opinions of the authors and information

provided by them for conducting the research in the effective and efficient manner. It is based
on the description of the things on the basis of data provided. The primary data collection
method used by the researcher assist in using the qualitative technique for the research. The
researcher will use the questionnaire for identifying the information through the views and
opinions of the respondents
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Descriptive Statistics
This includes the summary statistic that describes the key features of the collected data.
These key features include meaning which reflects the data point's central tendency and the
standard deviation shows the average deviation of the scores from the data means.
Correlation Analysis
Correlation analysis includes the calculation of the association between the independent
variables. The correlation values lie between -1 to +1 where larger figure shows a more level of
correlation between the variable. On the other hand, negative and positive sign shows the
direction of correlation (Luthans and Peterson, 2002). Such as if the answer is -0.8 which means
the variables are negatively correlated where an increase in one lead to a decrease in another
variable.
Correlations
Descriptive
Statistics
Mean
Std.
Deviation N
Engagement 13.422 4.0871 45

A.0 age 2.205 1.1119 44
A.1 gender 1.533 .5045 45
A.2 experience 2.182 1.0178 44
Q1_4 team work 4.524 1.2540 42
job satisfaction 12.467 4.1043 45
Innovation 8.200 2.7019 45
supervisory support 12.444 4.4444 45
organisation
commitment
18.400 5.4581 45
Spearma
n
correlati
on
Correlati
ons

engagement
A.0
age
A.1
gender
A.2
experience
Q1_4
team
work
job
satisfaction innovation
supervisory
support
o
r
g
a
n
i
s
a
t
i
o
n
c
o
m
m
i
t
m
e
n
t
Spearman'
s rho
engagement Correlatio
n
Coefficient
1.000 .112 -.168 .219 .490** .640** -.228 .748** .693**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
. .234 .134 .077 .000 .000 .066 .000 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
Age Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.112 1.000 -.113 .558** .012 .030 -.119 .155 .170
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.234 . .233 .000 .472 .424 .221 .157 .135
N 44 44 44 43 41 44 44 44 44
Gender Correlatio
n
Coefficient
-.168 -.113 1.000 -.216 -.029 .031 .137 -.083 .040

Sig. (1-
tailed)
.134 .233 . .080 .429 .419 .185 .295 .398
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
experience Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.219 .558** -.216 1.000 .395** .227 -.251 .317* .275*
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.077 .000 .080 . .005 .070 .050 .018 .035
N 44 43 44 44 42 44 44 44 44
team work Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.490** .012 -.029 .395** 1.000 .714** -.269* .545** .514**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .472 .429 .005 . .000 .042 .000 .000
N 42 41 42 42 42 42 42 42 42
job
satisfaction
Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.640** .030 .031 .227 .714** 1.000 -.258* .613** .665**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .424 .419 .070 .000 . .044 .000 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
innovation Correlatio
n
Coefficient
-.228 -.119 .137 -.251 -.269* -.258* 1.000 -.194 -.183
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.066 .221 .185 .050 .042 .044 . .100 .115
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
supervisory
support
Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.748** .155 -.083 .317* .545** .613** -.194 1.000 .682**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .157 .295 .018 .000 .000 .100 . .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
organisation
commitment
Correlatio
n
Coefficient
.693** .170 .040 .275* .514** .665** -.183 .682** 1.000
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .135 .398 .035 .000 .000 .115 .000 .

N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
**.
Correla
tion is
signific
ant at
the
0.01
level
(1-
tailed).
*.
Correla
tion is
signific
ant at
the
0.05
level
(1-
tailed).
Comparative Study on Financial Performance of Three Different-Nationality-Proprietor
Commercial Banks in Sierra Leone
The correlation table presents the correlation between all variables calculated using
spearman correlation and the Pearson correlation is attached in appendix 2. The independent
variables identified for the research include teamwork, innovation, supervisory support,
organisation commitment and job satisfaction. The dependent variable which is measured against
these variables is employee engagement. If compared each factor with the employee engagement
every factor has a positive correlation, however, some have strong and some having weak. But
the previous literature has suggested that implementation of combine factors that is innovation
and development can lead to more employee engagement.

Team Work
The teamwork improves the business productivity by keeping the employees more
attached and engaged to the organization. Teamwork is defined as the shared actions of the
individual for the achievement of the common goal (Shuck and Wollard, 2010). According to the
Pearson correlation, the value is .490 which indicates a positive correlation between employee
engagement and teamwork. However, this is not much higher, but it has a certain contribution in
increasing the engagement.
Innovation
Innovation is considered as the acceptance of new ideas within the organisation. The
acceptance of innovation means implementation and listening of the employee ideas further
rewarding and encouraging the employee for innovation (Albrech, 2011). The correlation
between employee engagement and innovation is -.228 indicating a negative relationship with
the employee engagement.
Supervisory Support
Support and feedback effects the engagement of the employee within the organisation
(MacLeod and Clarke, 2009). The .748 value for the correlation between employee engagement
and support provided by supervisor indicate that the company with a good leader and proper
structure increase the engagement of employee. This shows that if there is constructive feedback
and support from the supervisor than employees will be more engaged and committed.

Job Satisfaction
Today competitive environment requires more learning opportunities for employees
where there is the acquisition of new skills and training (Luthans and Peterson, 2002). The
correlation of .640 indicates a positive relation between job satisfaction and engagement. The
employees who are satisfied from their work will be engaged and retained in the organisation for
more period.
Organisation Commitment
The value of .693 indicate a strong and positive correlation between engagement and
commitment. This shows that if employees are committed to the organisation strategies and feel
ownership of it they will be more engaged.
Gender Differences
The research also meant to highlight if the employee engagement differs between
genders. The mean difference shows there is no significant difference in the male and female
with respect to engagement.
One-
Sample
Statistics
N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std. Error
Mean
Male 21 13.714 4.0761 .8895
female 24 13.167 4.1668 .8505
One-
Sample
Test

Test Value = 0
t Df
Sig. (2-
tailed)
Mean
Difference
95%
Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
male 15.418 20 .000 13.7143 11.859 15.570
female 15.480 23 .000 13.1667 11.407 14.926
Employee Engagement and Experience
The mean difference between the 9 to 12 years employee is high which shows the
employees within this range experience more engagement. Further the new employees or less
experienced employees have less engagement in comparison to others.
One-Sample
Statistics
N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std. Error
Mean
0-1 year 12 12.833 4.6677 1.3475
1-3 years 17 13.000 2.8723 .6966
4-8 years 12 15.583 3.0883 .8915
9-12 years 1a 16.000 . .
13 years and
above
2 13.000 2.8284 2.0000
a. t cannot be computed because the sum of case weights is less than or
equal 1.
Test
Value
= 0

t df
Sig. (2-
tailed)
Mean
Difference
95%
Confidence
Interval of
the
Difference
Lower
0-1 year 9.524 11 .000 12.8333 9.868
1-3 years 18.661 16 .000 13.0000 11.523
4-8 years 17.479 11 .000 15.5833 13.621
13 years and
above
6.500 1 .097 13.0000 -12.412
Employee Engagement and Age
There is difference between the mean of engagement within different age groups. The
employees within the age of 46-55 have higher engagement level.
N Mean
Std.
Deviation
Std. Error
Mean
18-25 11 13.818 2.4827 .7486
26-35 20 13.200 4.1371 .9251
36-45 5 13.000 2.5495 1.1402
46-55 5 15.600 5.1284 2.2935
56-65 2 14.500 .7071 .5000
One-
Sample
Test
Test Value = 0
t df
Sig. (2-
tailed)
Mean
Difference
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
18-25 18.460 10 .000 13.8182 12.150 15.486
26-35 14.269 19 .000 13.2000 11.264 15.136

36-45 11.402 4 .000 13.0000 9.834 16.166
46-55 6.802 4 .002 15.6000 9.232 21.968
56-65 29.000 1 .022 14.5000 8.147 20.853
Recommendations to Organisation
The regression and correlation analyses have identified that there is a significant
influence on innovation, organisation management and development opportunities whereas there
is a less significant impact of teamwork. This means that the organisation with clear structures,
proper management and leader can have more employee engagement. The organisation which
work for the employee development where employees receive training and acquire new skills
have a higher level of engagement. Further, the organisation where the innovation and new ideas
are rewarded employees believe that they have autonomy and recognition this will keep them
engaged. However, the negative impact of teamwork is due to improper team management and
group recognition in place of individual identification. Therefore, it is recommended that
organisations that wanted to improve employee engagement should manage these key drivers of
the employee engagement.

References
Albrech, S.L., 2011. Handbook of employee engagement: Perspectives, issues, research and
practice. Human Resource Management International Digest, 19(7).
Gruman, J.A. and Saks, A.M., 2011. Performance management and employee
engagement. Human Resource Management Review, 21(2), pp.123-136.
Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L. and Hayes, T.L., 2002. Business-unit-level relationship between
employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-
analysis. Journal of applied psychology, 87(2), p.268.
Luthans, F. and Peterson, S.J., 2002. Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy. Journal
of management development, 21(5), pp.376-387.
Macey, W.H. and Schneider, B., 2008. The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and
Organisational Psychology, 1(1), pp.3-30.
MacLeod, D. and Clarke, N., 2009. Engaging for success: enhancing performance through
employee engagement: a report to the government. London: Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills.
Saks, A.M., 2006. Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of
managerial psychology, 21(7), pp.600-619.
Shuck, B. and Wollard, K., 2010. Employee engagement and HRD: A seminal review of the
foundations. Human resource development review, 9(1), pp.89-110.

Appendices
Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire
*
Choose you age category
 18-25
 26-35
 36-45
 46-55
 56-65
 above 65
*
Please choose your gender
 Male
 Female
 Others
*
For how long you have been working at the organization, tick one answer only
 0-1 year
 1-3 years
 4-8 years
 9-12 years
 13 years and above
Q1
Kindly rate the following statements from 0-5; lowest to highest respectively
0 1 2 3 4 5
I enjoy
work that I
do on a
Daily
Basis
My work
environme

0 1 2 3 4 5
nt is
comfortabl
e, allowing
me to do
my job
without
any
difficulty
Work
makes the
best use of
my
abilities
I am made
to feel that
I am a part
of a team
Q2
Read the following questions and tick the correct answer
Yes Sometimes No
Have you ever come up
with an idea that helped
your organization in new
product line or to either
cutting costs or creating a
new revenue stream?
Do you think your
supervisor/organization
welcomes new ideas from
you?
Have you ever been
recognized for the
idea/ideas that got
implemented?
If yes, were you satisfied
with the
recognition/reward you
got?
Have you ever been
financially rewarded for
an idea you passed on and
got implemented
Q3
What range of behavioural fairness does the following statements imply to your work engagement

1 2 3 4 5
The leadership in
organization treats all the
employees equally
satisfactory over the
organization's policies on
rewards and recognition
The managers keep
professionalism and
cordial while
communicating to
employees
Favouritism is not an issue
in this organization
Q4
In regard to your personal development plan in real time, please rate the following
1 2 3 4 5
You are offered full access
to a variety of job
resources
The job resources are
helpful for achieving goals
and stimulating personal
growth and development
Main human needs such as
relatedness, competence
and autonomy to develop
and grow are fulfilled
Supervisors and managers
support, in addition to
giving comprehensive
feedback when needed
Q5
Kindly rate the following.
1 2 3 4 5
How likely are you to
recommend working here
to someone else?
Do you understand the
strategic goals of the
wider organization?
How do you feel about
your current team?
Does your leader inspire
you?
Do you have full

1 2 3 4 5
understanding of informal
structure and processes at
the organization?

Appendix 2: Pearson Correlation
Correla
tions
engagem
ent
A.0
age
A.1
gend
er
A.2
experien
ce
Q1_
4
team
wor
k
job
satisfacti
on
in
no
va
ti
on
supervisory
support
o
r
g
a
n
i
s
a
t
i
o
n
c
o
m
m
i
t
m
e
n
t
engageme
nt
Pearson
Correlati
on
1 .182 -.068 .212 .450*
*
.767** .278* .795** .825**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.119 .330 .084 .001 .000 .032 .000 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
A.0 age Pearson
Correlati
on
.182 1 -.079 .384** -.10
4
.077 -.025 .131 .119

Sig. (1-
tailed)
.119 .304 .006 .259 .310 .436 .199 .222
N 44 44 44 43 41 44 44 44 44
A.1
gender
Pearson
Correlati
on
-.068 -.07
9
1 -.198 .018 .020 .103 -.057 .003
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.330 .304 .099 .454 .449 .250 .354 .491
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
A.2
experienc
e
Pearson
Correlati
on
.212 .384*
*
-.198 1 .366*
*
.217 -.133 .260* .258*
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.084 .006 .099 .009 .078 .195 .044 .046
N 44 43 44 44 42 44 44 44 44
Q1_4
team
work
Pearson
Correlati
on
.450** -.10
4
.018 .366** 1 .671** -.219 .560** .444**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.001 .259 .454 .009 .000 .082 .000 .002
N 42 41 42 42 42 42 42 42 42
job
satisfactio
n
Pearson
Correlati
on
.767** .077 .020 .217 .671*
*
1 .225 .706** .804**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .310 .449 .078 .000 .069 .000 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
innovatio
n
Pearson
Correlati
on
.278* -.02
5
.103 -.133 -.21
9
.225 1 .203 .301*

Sig. (1-
tailed)
.032 .436 .250 .195 .082 .069 .091 .022
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
supervisor
y support
Pearson
Correlati
on
.795** .131 -.057 .260* .560*
*
.706** .203 1 .805**
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .199 .354 .044 .000 .000 .091 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
organisati
on
commitm
ent
Pearson
Correlati
on
.825** .119 .003 .258* .444*
*
.804** .301* .805** 1
Sig. (1-
tailed)
.000 .222 .491 .046 .002 .000 .022 .000
N 45 44 45 44 42 45 45 45 45
**.
Correlat
ion is
signific
ant at
the 0.01
level (1-
tailed).
*.
Correlat
ion is
signific
ant at
the 0.05
level (1-
tailed).