Evaluate the argument

[nasheen_shaikh]

In an experiment, two different types of recorded music were played for neonates in adjacent nurseries in a hospital. In nursery A, classical music was played: in nursery B, rock music was played. After two weeks, it was found that the babies in nursery A cried less, suffered fewer minor ailments, and gained more weight than did the babies in nursery B.

In evaluating the validity of the conclusion suggested by the experiment above it would be most important to know which of the following?
A) The musical preferences of the parents of the two groups of newborns.
B) Whether the newborns in both the nurseries were equally healthy and happy at the start of the experiment.
C) Whether loud rock music can damage the hearing of newborns.
D) what the average weight of the neonates was before and after the experiment
E) Whether the music was played in the nurseries at all times or only at certain times.

Ron how to approach the evaluate the argument question ?

[RonPurewal]

hi,

* is this problem from the official gmat prep software?
if so, please post a screenshot (either directly in your post or at an image hosting site such as postimage.org). if not, please re-post this thread in the "general verbal questions" folder, along with an appropriate citation of the original source.

* also, please ask some more specific questions about the problem.
what approach did you take to it?
which answer choices were you able to eliminate, and why?
between which answer choices were you still debating? what were you unsure about?
etc.
we can't really construct a meaningful reply if you just post a problem without any more specific queries.

thanks.