A recent company survey found that employees who were regular participants in the company fitness program had fewer sick days compared to employees who did not participate. However, because this study...

A recent company survey found that employees who were regular participants in the company fitness program had fewer sick days compared to employees who did not participate. However, because this study was not a true experiment, a cause-and-effect relationship between regular exercise and fewer sick days cannot be determined.

Identify a confounding variable that might explain the relationship between regular exercise and fewer sick days that was found by the company survey. Describe a between-subjects design that you could use to determine whether participation in the exercise program caused fewer sick days. What factors would you control for (don’t forget about the confounding variable you previously identified!)? How would a repeated measures (within-subjects) design be different, and would it be appropriate for answering this research question? Why or why not?