Question

A group of scientists began a research study to determine if the students in schools that were kept at a colder temperature were more likely to get sick. The scientists began their study at a school in South Florida which maintained a temperature of 16°C (60°F) all day. The scientists found that 45% of the students caught colds from December to March. They documented their results and wrote a conclusion for their findings which stated that colder temperatures in a school result in the students becoming sick. When the researchers tried to publish their paper, all respected journals rejected it. What would be the most likely reason for not being able to publish the results at this point?

Answer 1

They only looked at one school which is not representative of all students in schools. There could have been an illness going around at this particular school but they have nothing to compare their results to. There should be a control group of students at normal temperatures to compare results of the temperature difference effect also.