Market research Before bringing a new product to market, firms carry out extensive studies to learn how consumers react to the product and how best to advertise its advantages. Here are data from a study of a new laundry detergent.24 The participants are a random sample of people who don’t currently use the established brand that the new product will compete with. Give subjects free samples of both detergents.

After they have tried both for a while, ask which they prefer. The answers may depend on other facts about how people do laundry.

Laundry Practices Soft water, warm wash Soft water, hot wash Hard water, warm wash Hard water, hot wash Prefer standard product 53 27 42 30 Prefer new product 63 29 68 42 Does the sample provide convincing evidence of an association between laundry practices and product preference in the population of interest?