A Trend in the Data That Has No Obvious Explanation

Multiple Choice

A trend in the data that has no obvious explanation is troublesome for researchers for all of the following reasons, except:

A) some variable is influencing behavior significantly and this could interfere with seeing the impact of the control condition or the intervention condition
B) without an obvious explanation for the trend, the researcher cannot be clear on how to more effectively control the environment to reduce the impact of these factors
C) a trend makes it more difficult to determine the effects of an intervention
D) there are no informal criteria or rules to help guide a researcher's decision-making process if this occurs