Suppose that a philosophy professor is able to monitor the amount of time her logic students spend working on a computerized tutorial program. When the students spend 5 hours on the program, their average grade increases by 4 percentage points. When they spend 10 hours on the program, their average grade increases by an additional 4 percentage points, and when they spend 15 hours working on the program, their grades increase by yet an additional 4 percentage points. The professor concludes that work on the tutorial program causes an increase in student grades. What method did the professor use in drawing this conclusion?
A) The method of difference.
B) The method of agreement.
C) The method of concomitant variation.
D) The method of residues.
E) The joint method of agreement and difference.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The professor used the method of concomitant variation, which involves observing how changes in one variable (amount of time spent on the tutorial program) are accompanied by changes in another variable (student grades). By observing that as the time spent on the tutorial program increased, the grades increased by a consistent amount, the professor was able to conclude that there is a causal relationship between the two variables.

Suppose That a Philosophy Professor Is Able to Monitor the Amount