Question
A large company wants to find out what team-building activity its employees prefer. Which of the following samples can give the most valid generalization?
400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees
A group with one member from each department
All employees who have worked in the company for 5 years or more
All 624 female employees in the company
400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees
A group with one member from each department
All employees who have worked in the company for 5 years or more
All 624 female employees in the company
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To determine which sample can provide the most valid generalization about the team-building activity preferences of all employees in a large company, let's evaluate each option:
1. **400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees**: This is the most representative sample because it randomly selects from the entire population of employees, thus reducing bias and ensuring diverse representation across different departments, roles, and demographics.
2. **A group with one member from each department**: While this approach includes representation from all departments, it is limited as it may not accurately reflect the preferences of the entire employee population due to the small sample size and potential departmental biases.
3. **All employees who have worked in the company for 5 years or more**: This sample is biased toward long-term employees and may not represent the preferences of newer employees or those from different backgrounds within the company.
4. **All 624 female employees in the company**: This sample is limited to only female employees, which prevents a generalization to the entire employee population and introduces gender bias.
Given these considerations, the best option for achieving a valid generalization about employee preferences for team-building activities is:
**400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees**.
1. **400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees**: This is the most representative sample because it randomly selects from the entire population of employees, thus reducing bias and ensuring diverse representation across different departments, roles, and demographics.
2. **A group with one member from each department**: While this approach includes representation from all departments, it is limited as it may not accurately reflect the preferences of the entire employee population due to the small sample size and potential departmental biases.
3. **All employees who have worked in the company for 5 years or more**: This sample is biased toward long-term employees and may not represent the preferences of newer employees or those from different backgrounds within the company.
4. **All 624 female employees in the company**: This sample is limited to only female employees, which prevents a generalization to the entire employee population and introduces gender bias.
Given these considerations, the best option for achieving a valid generalization about employee preferences for team-building activities is:
**400 randomly chosen employees from the list of all employees**.