Gracie argued that community-owned sources of fresh water, such as river and lakes, will always be maintained less carefully than privately-owned sources such as wells. She claimed that most people would be tempted to overuse community property because the benefits would accrue to the individual, while the costs of reduced quality that result from overuse would be spread among all members of the community. But a study comparing 250 community-owned lakes with 4,000 private wells showed that the lakes were in significantly better condition.
The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in evaluating the significance, of the study described above, as it relates to Gracie’s thesis?
【选项】
Were the private wells that were studied of comparable quality to the community lakes before either was used as a fresh water source?
选项是否正确？