Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisHardJudging a conclusion from a comparison of two groups
Problem-Solving and Data Analysis practice question
A hospital finds that patients who receive visitors recover faster than patients who do not. It concludes that arranging visitors for lonely patients will speed their recovery. Which of the following best describes a weakness in this conclusion?
- A. Patients who receive visitors may differ in health, age, or circumstances that themselves affect recovery, so visitors may not be the cause.Correct
- B. Recovery cannot be measured.
- C. The hospital should have studied nurses instead.
- D. Visitors always slow recovery.
Answer: A. Patients who receive visitors may differ in health, age, or circumstances that themselves affect recovery, so visitors may not be the cause.
Association is not cause; the groups may differ in other ways.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. Recovery cannot be measured.
- Recovery times are measured routinely.
- C. The hospital should have studied nurses instead.
- Irrelevant.
- D. Visitors always slow recovery.
- The data show the opposite association.
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