Single choice · #179
Manager Wang believes remote work is inefficient. He asked his assistant to compile all delayed projects and found that seven out of ten occurred during remote work periods, so he concluded that remote work caused the decrease in efficiency. What should be questioned next?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: B
- AContinue collecting more delayed projects during remote work to expand the evidence✗ Wrong. Adding more similar cases only reinforces the existing bias and does not test the boundaries of the pattern.
- BInvestigate which projects were delivered on time during remote work to look for counterexamples✓ Correct. Counterexamples can reveal the boundaries of the pattern and may show that the real causes are other factors like unclear tasks or frequent collaboration.
- CImmediately cancel remote work and strictly enforce the office attendance policy✗ Wrong. Acting directly on a conclusion drawn from a biased sample skips verification, treating an untested hypothesis as established fact.
- DAsk all employees about their feelings toward remote work✗ Wrong. Subjective feelings cannot replace objective delivery data, and this still risks collecting impressions that only support the initial belief, making it not the most effective test.
Explanation:Manager Wang only collected delayed projects, which is a case of seeking supporting evidence while ignoring counterexamples. The truly valuable question is to look for counterexamples: what do those projects that were completed on time or even early during remote work indicate? Counterexamples may not necessarily overturn the conclusion, but they can point out the boundaries of the pattern, such as whether the real factors affecting efficiency are task clarity or collaboration methods.