The general theory used for this assignment addresses the relationship between wine closure type (cork or screwcap) and intent or willingness to purchase (i.e., 'sales'). The literature seems to point in different directions, depending on perceived quality of the wine, purpose of purchase (gift or personal use), etc. (see the three articles listed below). Yet, the (perceived) growing acceptance of screw-caps, lower cost, and elimination of the problem of 'cork taint has prompted a number of American Vineyards to consider a switch away from corks. For a medium-priced bottle of wine, would a switch to screw-caps result in a loss of unit sales? Assume, for the purpose of this assignment, that you are manager for vineyard producing mid-priced wines (say, The Domain Carneros Winery https://www.domainecarneros.com/- in Napa Valley California). You are contemplating a switch to screw-caps from cork. What applied research could be conducted to determine if such a switch will result in lower unit sales? Thinking back on the Pyramid of Evidence, what would a controlled, randomized longitudinal study look like if you were to conduct at one or more locations that retail Domain Carneros wines? What are the independent and dependent variables? How would they be measured? In what manner would the independent variable be altered/changed (to see if a resulting change appeared in the dependent variable)? How would some sense of ʼrandomness' be included in the design? In a three to four-page paper (of text), describe an applied research study that could be conducted to answer the research question: Will sales Domain Carneros wine be influenced by a change in the type of bottle closure? To figure this out, you will need to at least peruse the foundational (e.g., basic) studies listed below. As a group, they will describe some of the current thinking/research on the subject. While none of these report on a specific cause-and-effect study (most are descriptive and/or correlational), they do provide a fairly descriptive view of U.S. perceptions of screw-caps at the time of the studies. But remember, these studies are over a decade old and consumer preferences and perceptions have been changing. As the vineyard manager, you have broad authority to facilitate an experiment by contracting out the bottling of some cases with screw-caps, making arrangements with various retailers, etc.