Research Methodology Report: Employee Engagement at Tata Motors

This report outlines the research methodology employed to investigate employee engagement at Tata Motors. It details the research questions focused on factors improving employee productivity and the impact of engagement activities. The study utilizes three primary methodologies: qualitative, quantitative, and applied research. The qualitative approach involves interviews with employees, using purposive sampling. The quantitative method employs surveys with a simple random sample of employees. The applied research methodology gathers data from various sources, including interviews with management and analysis of business documents, using stratified random sampling. The report discusses data collection methods, sampling techniques, advantages, limitations, and ethical considerations for each methodology. The aim is to provide a comprehensive framework for understanding the relationship between employee engagement and organizational productivity within Tata Motors.

Running head: METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Research Topic....................................................................................................................2
Research question and selection of methodologies.............................................................2
Description of the three methodologies...............................................................................3
Qualitative methodology.................................................................................................3
Type of data to be collected.........................................................................................3
Description of the Sample...........................................................................................4
Advantages of methodologies......................................................................................4
Limitations of methodologies......................................................................................4
Ethical Consideration in using methodology...............................................................5
Quantitative methodology...............................................................................................5
Type of data to be collected.........................................................................................6
Description of the Sample...........................................................................................6
Advantages of methodologies......................................................................................6
Limitations of methodologies......................................................................................7
Ethical Consideration in using methodology...............................................................7
Applied research methodology........................................................................................7
Type of data to be collected.........................................................................................8
Description of the Sample...........................................................................................8
Advantages of methodologies......................................................................................8

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Limitations of methodologies......................................................................................9
Ethical Consideration in using methodology...............................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................10

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Research Topic
The topic selected for this study will be similar to the previous topics “the impact of
employee engagement on organizational productivity: A case study of Tata motors Limited,
India”.
Research question and selection of methodologies
 What are the factors that improve employee’s productivity at Tata Motors?
 Importance of employment engagement activities conducted at Tata Motors?
 What is the relation between employment engagement activities and employees
productivity at Tata Motors?
 What is the effect of employment engagement activities on the employee’s
productivity at Tata Motors?
The methods that will be selected for the purpose of collecting data related to the research
questions includes- qualitative methods, quantitative method and applied research methods.
Qualitative methods are usually used for the purpose of understanding how they behave and the
reasons behind particular behavior of the people (Attia and Edge 2017). Quantitative methods are
used for the purpose of understanding a particular phenomenon through collection of numerical
data that has been analyzed with the help of different mathematical methods. The applied
research method is used for understanding issues affecting individuals or groups of individuals.
Therefore it helps in understanding the relation between a particular activity and the outcome of
the same. There are various other methods as well such as the time series method, and other
experimental methods however they are not selected for the purpose of this study and also based
on the research question (Bailey and Burch 2017).

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Description of the three methodologies
Therefore from the above paragraph it is clear that in order to collect data related to the
research questions, the three methods that will be used includes- the quantitative method, the
qualitative method and the quasi-experimental method (Bresler and Stake 2017).
Qualitative methodology
A qualitative method includes a scientific method for collection of non-numerical type of
data and focuses majorly on making meaning or interpreting meaning. Therefore the qualitative
method is used for understanding “why people behave the way they behave”. And it helps us in
getting in-depth information related to the human behaviour. The qualitative method aims at
understanding the thoughts, feelings and opinion of the respondents (Fletcher 2017). Qualitative
research is used for seeking answers to certain questions, for using predetermined procedures, for
collecting evidences, and it can help in producing evidences that had not been determined before.
This method moreover provides information related to the human side of issue and therefore
helps in understanding the opinions, beliefs, relationship and emotions of individuals (Glesne
2016).
Type of data to be collected
There are three common methods of collecting qualitative data that includes the
participant observation, focus groups and in-depth interviews. Participant observation includes
data collection in the most natural way that is by simply observing the respondents behaviour. In-
depth interviews are conducted for the purpose of understanding individual perspectives,
personal histories, and also experiences. In order to collect qualitative data, structured interview
will be undertaken that is the participants will be asked to answer some pre-set or determined
questions (Humphries 2017). And focus groups includes- eliciting data on the basis of group

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norms and for understanding the issues related to cultural groups. The method that will be used
for this study is interviews.
Description of the Sample
The sample that will be selected for the purpose of qualitative data collection will
include- some of the long term employees and also those who have recently joined the
organization. The sampling technique that will be used for the purpose of collection of
qualitative data includes purposive sampling technique. In the purposive sampling technique, the
individuals to be interviewed are selected on the basis of some predetermined criteria’s and in
the basis of the research questions. Therefore this method is suitable when data analysis and
review are to be done (Ledford and Gast 2018).
Advantages of methodologies
Some of the major advantages of the qualitative methods when carrying out an
exploratory research includes providing an opportunity to the participants to answer in their own
words when open ended interview questions are asked. Moreover this can also help the
researcher in getting explanatory answers. It also gives the researcher the ability to probe
responses such as how and why (Kumar 2019). Qualitative research can provide company and
industry insights and supports detailed oriented data collection.
Limitations of methodologies
Some of the major limitations of the qualitative method of data collection includes- its
dependency on the experience of the interviewer and therefore data collection to a great extent
depends upon the interviewing skills of the interviewer. The qualitative data may also be
influenced by the biases of the researcher as they may listen only what they actually want to

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listen. The qualitative methods cannot be accurate and therefore cannot give best results unless
used with some other research method. Moreover the interviews or any other methods of
qualitative data collection can be time consuming (Mohajan 2018).
Ethical Consideration in using methodology
Some of the ethical considerations that needs to be taken care of while using qualitative
methods includes- not forcing people to participate in the interview and giving them the
autonomy to decide whether or not they want to participate. Then the participants need to
ensured that they will be protected against any kind of harm by keeping their identities
anonymous. And moreover the informed consent of the participants need to be taken.
Quantitative methodology
Quantitative method refers to understanding a particular phenomenon with the help of
numerical or statistical data and makes use of a number of computational and mathematical
techniques. In other words, quantitative method is used for collecting numerical or quantifiable
data and then generalising the same across groups of people for the purpose of understanding a
particular phenomenon. The main aim of the quantitative research is to understand the
relationship between two variables- a dependent and an independent one within the selected
population. Quantitative data is usually collected through structured instruments. However for
carrying out quantitative method all aspects of study needs to be carefully designed prior to the
data collection. Moreover the quantitative research will be done based on certain research
questions.

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Type of data to be collected
Quantitative method helps in collection of numerical data through- questionnaires,
surveys, polls and other techniques. Therefore in order to collect the quantitative data, it is not
necessary for the researcher to come face to face with the respondents as online surveys,
questionnaires and polls can be sent to the respondents. For the purpose of this study a survey
will be conducted with the employees of the chosen organization for collecting data related to the
research questions (Ørngreen and Levinsen 2017).
Description of the Sample
Sampling is done to select a group of individuals or a particular sample from the entire
population. And the participants may be selected randomly to avoid any type of biased responses
to the research questions. The number of employees who will be asked to take part in the survey
will be 100. The sampling technique that will be used for the purpose of this study is simple
random sampling. In simple random sampling technique, participants will be randomly selected
and it is usually used when the population is too large to be surveyed. There are numerous other
sampling techniques however for this study, the other methods will not be selected.
Advantages of methodologies
Some of the major advantages of the quantitative methodology includes- collection of
accurate and reliable data, quick collection of data, wider scope for data analysis and elimination
of any biases. The quantitative data collection methods results in extremely reliable and accurate
data because the results have been analysed and presented statistically for interpretation. The
surveys are conducted with a large number of respondents together who represent the population.
Therefore data can be collected from many people at much lesser time than other research

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method. Therefore this method saves time and money of the researcher. Since the respondents
are selected randomly for the survey therefore the results will be biased free.
Limitations of methodologies
Some of the major limitations of the quantitative methods include- lack of detailed
information and only limited information is collected and the data collected may also be
superficial. The researchers are required to form hypothesis prior to conducting the research
however the findings may bring up new issues which has not been initially considered by the
researchers.
Ethical Consideration in using methodology
The ethical considerations in using quantitative methodology includes- taking informed
consent from the respondents whether they wish to take part in survey or not, the data collected
through survey should not be used for unethical purposes such as selling the survey data to other
companies and the survey questionnaires should not have the name of any company because it
should not be used for advertisement purposes.
Applied research methodology
Applied research methodology is used for the purpose of finding solutions to problems
that are being faced by organizations. Therefore this research method aims at finding a solution
to an identified organizational problem. For instance, with the help of this method the issue of
employees engagement at Tata Motors can be solved. The applied research methodology
includes inquiry of a non-systematic nature that can be launched either by the company or
individuals or agency for the purpose of addressing the identified issue. Therefore this research is
not concerned with expansion of knowledge related to a particular concept but to provide

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solutions to certain identified problems or issues. The method used in applied research is that of
research validity or in other words, the research aim at establishing research validity in different
types of studies (Wiek and Lang 2016). It is usually the external validity with which the
researches making use of applied research methods are concerned.
Type of data to be collected
The data for the purpose of applied research methodology will be collected either from
some published sources such as news articles, business reports, program descriptions and also
transcripts. Current information can be gathered from experts and also other interested parties.
Moreover information gathering visits can be done and real world observations can also be done
for the purpose of data collection. Interviews can be conducted with the top management for
understanding the employment engagement issue in details.
Description of the Sample
The sample selected for the purpose of this study will include- managers and employees
and staff for conducting direct interviews with them and for taking authorization for looking into
their business documents for the purpose of understanding the issue (Taherdoost 2016). The
sampling technique that will be used for the purpose of this research includes- the stratified
random sampling technique. A stratified random sampling technique will be help in gathering
different information from different people.
Advantages of methodologies
The advantage of applied research methodology includes- it can be used for gathering
data that can be used by the businesses for solving any issue that is being faced by them.
Therefore it provides much reliable data that can be used by the organizations (Schubert et al.

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2017). With the help of this method, organizations can gain new information which was
previously unavailable to them and based on that they can take certain decisions for improving
their activities. In order to collect data, kit makes use of rigorous scientific methods (Silverman
2016).
Limitations of methodologies
One of the major limitation of the applied research methodology is that it is done for a
particular entity or organization and therefore has a very limited scope. It can be used only by a
particular organization which is currently being faced by certain issues (Qureshi 2017). The
results that can be drawn from the applied research methodology cannot be applied anywhere
else as it is a more customised research method. It is more expensive and time consuming as
rigorous scientific research is done for data collection. Therefore t can be said that the results of
the applied research methodology cannot be generalised.
Ethical Consideration in using methodology
All researches needs to follow certain ethical consideration or standards for best results.
Therefore for carrying out applied research methodology also certain ethical considerations are
to be take care of. Some of these includes- informed consent, voluntary participation,
confidentiality, not to use the data for any commercial purposes, maintaining annuity to
safeguard the interest of the respondents and only those components and information needs to be
assessed that is relevant to the research. Therefore it is necessary that all the respondents give
their consent for taking oat in the research, confidentiality of information is one of the most
important ethical consideration that needs to be made.

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References
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research methodology. Open Review of Educational Research, 4(1), pp.33-45.
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Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International journal of social research methodology, 20(2), pp.181-194.
Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
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