Dr. Adriana conducts a study to determine if players who wear a new type of soccer uniform made from a specially designed fabric will perform better in soccer matches. She recruits a professional soccer team to participate in her study. She randomly assigns half of the men to wear the new-material uniforms made in the color blue and the other half to wear old-material uniforms made in the color red. Although the men know about the test, they are not told which one of the two uniforms is made from the new material. They are asked to wear their assigned uniforms and score as many goals as possible in a game against one another. Dr. Adriana notes the number of goals scored. Ultimately, the players who are wearing the old uniforms score more goals, and therefore, win the game. Dr. Adriana

Question

speculates that the new uniforms are not more beneficial to performance than the old uniforms, but she decides to conduct the test a few more times. From a scientific viewpoint, why was it important for Dr. Adriana to randomly assign the players to wear new or old uniforms?

A. She wanted to ensure that the performance of the players will be uniformly improved by wearing their respective uniforms.
B. She wanted to make sure that the uniforms do not affect the outcome of the game played by the players.
C. She wanted the players to feel they all had a chance of wearing their old uniforms, in which they would likely be more comfortable.
D. She wanted to ensure that each player had an equal chance of wearing the new or old uniform.

Answer 1

Answer: D