What is the minimum number of usable days required for conducting a work sampling study?

The correct answer is 15 usable days. In work sampling studies, having a sufficient number of usable days is essential to ensure that the sample is representative of the variability in the work processes being studied.

The minimum of 15 usable days strikes a balance that enables capturing a wide range of operational conditions, including variations in workloads, employee performance, and environmental factors. This sample size helps in minimizing the impact of anomalies or outlier days that may not reflect typical working conditions, thus improving the reliability and validity of the study outcomes. This number allows researchers to gather a robust dataset that can provide meaningful insights into work patterns and efficiency.

Having fewer than 15 usable days could lead to results that are not statistically significant, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions about the work processes being observed. In the context of work sampling, a larger sample size reduces the margin of error, thus enhancing the quality of the findings.