Which statement best captures why nutrition researchers prefer numerical data that can be analyzed statistically?

Researchers prefer numbers only because journals require tables, not because they improve the quality of inference

Numerical data are preferred because they always guarantee that findings are true regardless of study design or biases

Numerical data are only useful for animal studies and have no role in interpreting human nutrition outcomes

Numbers allow objective quantification of effects, assessment of variability and uncertainty through statistical tests, and clearer criteria for supporting or refuting hypotheses compared with qualitative anecdotes