When you read a research study, always ask yourself this key question:
Are there any additional underlying causes that could also explain the results of this study?
The paragraph below illustrates how additional underlying causes can lead to very different explanations of the research results.
Read this paragraph and answer the question below.
The Sad Story of a Research Study
An ice-cream factory decided to make some new flavors of ice-cream. They conducted research to find out how their customers would react to the new flavors. The results of their research showed that two months after they started selling their new flavors, sales of ice-cream increased by 35%. Based on these results, they came to the conclusion that their customers liked the new flavors very much.
What other underlying reasons could there be for the increase in sales of ice-cream? Choose the 2 correct answers.
