Methodological considerations in the open-plan office paradox

What the study found

Findings on open-plan outcomes depend partly on which variables and methods researchers choose, explaining some apparent contradictions.

Limitations

Review used Google Scholar and heterogeneous study designs.

Neurodesign interpretation

The office debate is a taxonomy problem as much as an evidence problem. 'Open plan' compresses too many design variables into one label.

Possible design implications

Report the specific office configuration and outcome instead of treating 'open plan' as a single exposure.

Why it stays in the corpus

Retain as methodological counterweight to anti/open-office absolutes.

Study design

Systematic literature review

Population

Office workers across 89 articles

Setting

Workplaces

Field

Workplace design

Mechanism

Method bias, office openness outcomes

Spatial variable

Office openness

Keywords

open plan, methods, workplace, review