Mills Method of Inductive Inference

[kennethj67]

Hello all. I am having trouble with this one assignment. I'm trying to figure out which one of Mill's method of inductive inference belongs to this passage.

Some theories arise from anecdotal evidence that is difficult to confirm. In The Left-Hander Syndrome (1992), Stanley Coren sought to evaluate the common belief that left-handed persons die sooner than right-handers. But death certificates or other public records very rarely mention the hand preferred by the deceased. What could serve as a reliable data source with which that hypothesis could be tested? Coren searched baseball records, noting which hand baseball pitchers threw with, and then recording their ages at death. Right-handed pitchers, he found, lived on average nine months longer than lefties. Then, in a follow-up study, he and a colleague telephoned the relatives of people named on death certificates in two California counties, to ask which hand the deceased favored. Right-handed people (that study found) lived an average of nine years longer than lefties.

For this, the method I chose was: The Method of Concomitant Variation. If there is anyone that can help out, I would surely appreciate the help. Thank you in advance.

KJ

 

[whozum]

Concomitant Variation sounds right to me.

 

[kennethj67]

So does it sound right or do you really know if its right? How did you come up with that? I just want to be 100% sure. Thanks for the fast response also.

 

[whozum]

Actually that is a tough call, I would go with concomitant variation after reading it again.

If the phenomenon being studied varies either directly or inversely with exactly one of a number of possible sources, then it is the cause.

It can't be agreement or difference since there is only one presented piece of data. The joint method also doesn't fit the provided data. I would say is concomitant variation because within the baseball group there was a nine month difference in age of death, whereas in the largest group there was a nine year difference.

 

[kennethj67]

O.K. Thank you. That is what I thought also. I think I will stick with that answer. Appreciate the assistance.