A recent study of 100 employees from six departments of a major corporation found 65% to be sleep deprived. The researchers concluded that the majority of corporate employees are sleep deprived.
The researcher’s conclusion is suspect because it
For the conclusion to be valid, the results of the study need to be representative of those that would have been obtained if the entire company had been surveyed. Are they? A major corporation could have thousands of enployees in any number of departments, whereas we're only looking at 100 employees from six departments. Were the employees appropriately sampled, perhaps using stratified random sampling to reflect the differences in the sizes of the departments? Were the employees required to respond to the survey? If not, wouldn't the ones who DID feel sleep-deprived be more likely to respond than those who didn't? And finally, is the result actually statistically significant? The researcher would need to demonstrate that an appropriate sampling technique was used to obtain the data in the first place, and also to calculate within what limits the estimate of 65% could realistically lie, given the size of the sample, before the conclusion could be considered credible.
might not be representative of the entire population of corporate employees.
To understand why the researcher's conclusion might be suspect, let's break down the details:
1. Sample Size: The study included 100 employees. While this might seem like a decent size, it may not be sufficient to represent the entire population of corporate employees, which could be much larger. If the sample size is too small, it could lead to biased or inaccurate results.
2. Sampling Method: The study does not specify how the employees were chosen. If the employees were not randomly selected, there could be a potential bias in the sample. For example, if the researchers only selected employees from certain departments or at specific times of the day, it might not accurately reflect the sleep patterns of all corporate employees.
3. Generalizability: The study only focuses on employees from a single major corporation. This means that the results may not be applicable to other corporations or industries. Different companies may have different work schedules, policies, and cultures that could affect employees' sleep patterns.
4. Measurement Accuracy: The study states that 65% of the employees were sleep deprived. However, it does not provide information about the methodology used to measure sleep deprivation or the specific criteria used for the definition. The accuracy of the measurement and the definition of sleep deprivation can significantly impact the conclusion.
To obtain more reliable and generalizable results, a more comprehensive study would be required, considering a larger and more diverse sample of corporate employees, using random sampling methods, and ensuring accurate measurement of sleep deprivation.