Remote Work Culture and Employee Engagement: Redesigning HR Strategies in the Hybrid Era

Tips for the assignment

Statement of the problem

It’s important to narrow the focus and highlight the specific research problem you’ll focus on in your dissertation.

To present your research problem, you’ll need to make it clear what exactly is missing in the current literature and why this is a problem. You can split this section up into two sections:

Section 1 - State the problem

Start with what’s already well-established in the literature, in other words, the current state of research. Then, state what’s missing in the literature (in other words, the research gap). This then forms the foundation for the research problem.

When stating the research problem, keep in mind that this can be any issue or question for which there isn’t already a well-established and agreed-upon answer in the existing research. So, pay close attention to what’s missing in the literature, especially the areas earmarked as “needing further research” in current journal articles.

Section 2 - Justify the problem

Just because there is a problem (a gap) in the current literature doesn’t mean that it needs to be studied, so you’ll need to explain why this is a problem. Specifically, you’ll need to answer the question: “why does this research gap need to be filled?”.

Once you’ve clearly articulated and justified the research problem, your foundation will be set, and you can proceed to present a convincing argument for your specific research project.

Rationale

Now that you’ve stated and justified the research problem, in the rationale section your goal is to explain what you’re going to do about the research problem.

This is where you will present the “golden thread” of your research study, which is made up of your research aim(s), research objective(s), and research question(s). These three dimensions of the golden thread will determine the focus and boundaries of your study.

Research aim(s)

The research aim is the main goal or the overarching purpose of your study. It’s a high-level statement of what you’re seeking to achieve. Research aims will typically look something like this:

• “This research aims to…
• “This research sought to…
• “The aim of this study…
• “This study planned to…”

Here’s an example of a research aim:

This research aims to assess the effects of Virgin Atlantic organisational culture on business profitability As you can see, it clearly states what the main goal and purpose of the study will be.

Research objective

As opposed to the research aims, the research objectives (RO) are a bit more practically oriented, looking at specific things you’ll be doing to achieve your research aim(s). They break down the research aims into more specific, actionable tasks. That is, ROs describe the actions you’ll take and the specific things you’ll investigate to achieve your research aims.

For your own research, start with your research aim(s), then break it down into the key aspects that need to be addressed to achieve that aim. Importantly, your research objectives need to be SMART (i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound).

Here’s example of a set of research objectives, following from the research aim mentioned earlier: The following research objectives would facilitate the achievement of this aim:

1. Analysing the nature of organisational culture at Virgin Atlantic by September 1, 2022

2.Identifying factors impacting Virgin Atlantic organisational culture by September 16, 2022

3.Analysing impacts of Virgin Atlantic organisational culture on employee performances by September 30, 2022

4.Providing recommendations to Virgin Atlantic strategic level management in terms of increasing the level of effectiveness of organisational culture by October 5, 2022

Research question(s)

These are the specific questions that your dissertation or thesis will seek to answer. These questions will act as the driving force throughout your dissertation or thesis – from the literature review to the methodology and onward.

The research questions typically directly relate to the research objectives. Simply put, they translate the research objectives into answerable questions. Following from the previous sample objectives, here are some potential research questions:

1.What is the nature of the organisational culture at Virgin Atlantic?

2. Which factors may contribute to the organisational culture?

3.What is the relationship between the organisational culture and employee performance?

As you can see, these research questions are directly linked to the first three research objectives.

Scope

Related to the parts in the rationale, the next section is your scope. If your research aims, research objectives and research questions (i.e., your golden thread) are too broad, you’ll risk losing focus or investigating a problem that is too big to solve within a single dissertation or thesis.

The scope section is where you’ll establish clear boundaries for your research project. You can do this, for example, by limiting it according to the following questions:

• What specific industry are you targeting?
• What geographical area are you investigating?
• What time period does your research cover?
• What demographics or communities are you researching?
• What specific themes or aspects of the topic does your dissertation address?

Don’t be afraid to narrow down your focus and scope. A good research project typically investigates a relatively narrow issue in great depth, not a broad issue superficially. Focus is your friend!

Significance

Now that you’ve explained the research problem and introduced your study, you need to highlight how your research will make a difference and what implications it will have.

In this section, you should clearly state how your study will benefit academia or the real-world or – ideally – both. So, the purpose of this section is to clearly explain how the research will help fill a gap in the literature as well as provide practical real-world value to organisations.

Importantly, you need to “sell” the value of your research here so that the reader understands why it’s worth committing an entire dissertation or thesis to it. Some of the angles you can take for promoting your research in this section are the following:

• Helps solve a practical or theoretical problem
• Addresses a gap in the literature
• Builds on existing research
• Proposes a new understanding of the topic

A strong argument regarding the significance of your study will get the reader interested and invested, so take the time to craft this section well and “sell” your project to the reader (and marker!). As mentioned earlier focus is your friend. A dissertation should say a lot about a little not a little about a lot.

Understanding the Dissertation Planning Process

Assessment Requirements

The assessment requires students to develop a structured plan for their dissertation by focusing on five critical components: Statement of the Problem, Rationale, Scope, Significance, and Research Design (including aims, objectives, and research questions).
The goal is to demonstrate a clear understanding of how to identify a research gap, justify the need for the study, and design a focused, feasible, and meaningful research plan.

Key pointers to be covered include:

1. Statement of the Problem:

   • Define what is already known from existing literature.

   • Identify the gap or missing element in current research.

   • Justify why this gap is important and how addressing it adds academic or practical value.

2. Rationale:

   • Explain the “golden thread” the link between research aims, objectives, and questions.

   • Clearly define what the study seeks to achieve and how it aligns with the identified gap.

3. Research Aims, Objectives, and Questions:

   • Present one main aim that describes the overall purpose.

   • Break it down into SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).

   • Formulate research questions directly linked to each objective.

4. Scope:

   • Define boundaries for the study in terms of industry, geography, time period, demographics, and thematic focus.

   • Ensure the topic is manageable and appropriately narrowed down.

5. Significance:

   • Explain how the research will contribute to knowledge, practice, or policy.

   • Highlight how the study fills an academic gap and/or provides real-world implications.

These elements together ensure that the dissertation proposal is well-structured, justified, and academically rigorous.

Mentoring Approach by the Academic Mentor

Step 1: Clarifying the Research Focus

The mentor began by helping the student select a topic area relevant to their academic field and interests. Through guided brainstorming, the student explored existing literature to identify patterns, debates, and unanswered questions. The mentor encouraged the student to formulate a concise research problem statement that highlighted what is missing and why it matters.

Outcome:
The student was able to narrow a broad research topic into a specific, researchable problem backed by credible academic evidence.

Step 2: Developing and Justifying the Problem

Next, the mentor guided the student to critically analyse the identified gap and justify why it needs investigation. Using current journal articles, the student learned how to articulate the research significance by linking the gap to real-world implications or theoretical advancement.

Outcome:
The student produced a clear, evidence-based justification, demonstrating both awareness of literature and relevance to practice.

Step 3: Constructing the Rationale and the Golden Thread

The mentor then explained the concept of the “golden thread” the logical connection between the research aim, objectives, and questions.
Together, they drafted a main research aim, then broke it into four SMART objectives. Each objective was then transformed into a corresponding research question, ensuring internal consistency and clarity.

Example Guided Structure:

• Aim: To assess the influence of organisational culture on employee performance.

• Objectives: Analyse culture, identify influencing factors, explore impacts, and provide recommendations.

• Research Questions: What is the nature of culture? What factors influence it? How does it affect performance?

Outcome:
The student gained a coherent framework to guide the entire dissertation — a logical flow from problem identification to question formulation.

Step 4: Defining the Scope

In this stage, the mentor emphasised focus and manageability. The student was guided to define specific parameters for instance, limiting the study to a particular company, region, or timeframe. This helped ensure feasibility within the dissertation’s length and time constraints.

Outcome:
A clearly bounded scope was established, preventing the research from becoming too broad or unfocused.

Step 5: Explaining the Significance

The mentor assisted the student in crafting a persuasive section on significance, teaching them how to “sell” the value of their research. Together, they explored angles such as:

• Filling a literature gap

• Providing insights for organisational improvement

• Supporting policy or educational reform

The mentor encouraged the use of academic literature and current industry examples to justify why the research matters both theoretically and practically.

Outcome:
The student articulated a strong, well-supported rationale showing how their study contributes to both academia and real-world contexts.

Step 6: Reviewing Academic Writing and Referencing

Finally, the mentor reviewed the draft to ensure academic accuracy, coherence, and proper APA referencing. They advised on using credible scholarly sources, avoiding overuse of direct quotations, and maintaining third-person academic tone.

Outcome:
The student refined their writing style, improved citation accuracy, and strengthened argument quality for academic credibility.

Final Outcome and Learning Objectives Achieved

By the end of the mentoring process, the student successfully produced a comprehensive dissertation planning document that met all assessment requirements.
The submission demonstrated clear alignment between the problem statement, rationale, research questions, and scope, fulfilling the marking criteria for clarity, structure, and academic justification.

Learning Objectives Achieved:

1. Critical Thinking: The student learned how to identify and justify a meaningful research problem.

2. Research Design Skills: Gained the ability to connect aims, objectives, and questions logically.

3. Academic Writing Competence: Developed precision in presenting structured arguments and supporting them with evidence.

4. Analytical Skills: Enhanced ability to interpret and synthesise existing literature to establish research relevance.

5. Professional Research Practice: Understood the importance of ethical, credible, and clearly scoped research design.

Summary

Through step-by-step academic mentoring, the student progressed from an unclear topic idea to a fully developed dissertation plan with a strong theoretical base.
The process ensured that every element from the problem statement to significance was purposeful, evidence-driven, and aligned with research best practices.

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