The first group of researchers find that all the participants who agreed to be on one of the diet plans had fewer health problems and lived longer than the participants in the control group.  They send these results into a journal for publication but the reviewer becomes worried that, because the participants were allowed to choose which treatment group they would be in, there could be cause for concern. The reviewer asked the researchers to control for exercise in their study by comparing participants who had similar lifestyles but different diets. Researchers discovered that all of the more active participants chose to be on the trendy diets and all of the less active participants chose to be on the traditional American diet. Because this was the case it is very hard for researchers to determine if the diets were causing the positive health outcomes or if the more active lifestyles were causing the positive health outcomes.Lifestyle could therefore be a: Hint, displayed belowPositive OutcomeLurking VariableExplanatory VariableResponse Variable

A second group of researchers find 400 participants who are screened for things like lifestyle preferences. They use a computer program to assign 100 participants to each of the 3 treatment groups and 100 participants to the control group. These participants will receive free groceries for life in exchange for their participation. Researchers follow up with participants once every 10 years to collect data on their health for the rest of their life.This can be considered an experiment because the researchers used:Hint, displayed belowRandom AssignmentLurking VariablesSample SurveyExperimental Design

A group of scientists conducts a scientific study to investigate dietary factors that influence the development of breast cancer. Which of the following activities is NOT likely to be a component of their research efforts?Multiple ChoiceCollecting data and analyzing resultsSubmitting an article describing the study to a peer-reviewed journalMaking observations and formulating a hypothesisPosting findings at the main researcher's personal website

What CONCLUSION can be drawn from the following statements?The only way to successfully manage weight is through lifestyle changes in exercise and eating habits. Crash diets and fanatical exercise regimes do not foster adherence.Choose AnswerADieting alone does not foster weight loss.Choose AnswerBPeople are getting fatter.Choose AnswerCEating habits are changing.Choose AnswerDFast-food eating is not a good way to lose weight.Choose AnswerESensible diets are the only way to lose weight.End of QuestionDCR47

If the researchers in the observational study found strong results, why might we be skeptical that they were caused by the diets implemented?The researchers didn't study the lurking variables.We can never be 100% certain of a claim of causation based on an observational study.The Hawthorne Effect is biasing the data.The response variable is too subjective.

Consider the following causal argument:Dave: Eating a paleo diet (a diet high in protein and unprocessed foods) has massive health benefits. And I’m not just making this up! I did some research. I chatted with 10 different people who are on the paleo diet, and all of them looked really fit and healthy.Which one of the following claims is true of Dave’s argument:Group of answer choicesThe people who are on the paleo diet are the test group, and Dave is the control group.The people who are on the paleo diet are the test group, and the people who are not on the paleo diet are the control group.Dave does not set up a test group and a control group in this argument.The people who are on the paleo diet are the control group, and the people who are not on the paleo diet are the test group.