The Scenario
A consulting firm presents a report to a retail CEO claiming: "Stores that play jazz music see 23% higher average basket size. Recommendation: play jazz in all stores." The data is real, but the conclusion is dangerously wrong.
The Brief
Write a critique of this report. Identify the logical flaw, propose at least 3 confounding variables, and design a study that could actually establish (or disprove) a causal relationship between music genre and basket size.
Deliverables
- A clear explanation of why correlation ≠ causation, using this specific example
- At least 3 plausible confounding variables that could explain the 23% difference
- A proposed experimental design (randomised controlled trial) that could test the causal claim
- One paragraph written as if you were advising the CEO directly
Submission Guidance
The CEO is not a statistician. Your critique must be rigorous but your advice must be plain English.
Submit Your Work
Your submission is graded against the rubric on the right. If you pass, you get a public Badge URL you can share on LinkedIn. There is no draft save, so work offline first and paste your finished response here.