frmichelin1-1, Exercise 3: Choosing claims to test

Model answer (check the details), using two claims from the table:

Claim 1: "The stars show the best restaurants in the world."
Evidence to look for: the guide's published criteria, the list of countries and cities it covers (there are areas with no guide), how the awards compare with other rankings and with chefs' own views, and how consistent the awards are from year to year (Chapters 3, 6 and 10). Where to find it: the guide, the company, rival rankings, and studies of restaurant ratings. The claim is doubtful as stated: "best" needs a measure, and the guide covers only places it chooses to cover and judges by its own criteria (check).

Claim 2: "Three stars make a fortune."
Evidence to look for: the accounts and reports of starred restaurants, chefs' own statements about costs and profit, changes in bookings after an award, and cases of restaurants that closed or gave up stars because of cost (Chapter 5). Where to find it: company records where public, the press, memoirs and interviews, and academic studies of restaurant economics. The claim is probably oversimplified: a star raises demand but also costs, and some starred restaurants have struggled (check).

In both cases, state what would change your mind before you look at the evidence.

Care: do not treat a slogan as a measurement, and check which year and country a claim is about.