ormation was collected about a group of individuals by observing them over a long period of time. (b) What is the response variable? What is the explanatory variable? The response variable is whether or not breast cancer was contracted, because it is the variable of interest. The explanatory variable is level of trauma, because it affects the other variable. (c) In the report, the researchers stated that "the research team also hasn't ruled out that a common factor like genetics could be causing both the emotions and the breast cancer." Explain what this sentence means. Choose the correct answer below. O A. It is not important to adjust for explanatory variables. O B. The researchers thought that genetics had greater influence than level of trauma. O C. The researchers may be concerned with confounding that occurs when the effects of two or more explanatory variables are not separated or when there are some explanatory variables that were not considered in a study, but that affect the value of the response variable