Consider the statement: 'Women are more in the library profession than men.' Identify the correct classification of variables for this statement. i. Men and women are independent variables. ii. Men and women are dependent variables. iii. Library profession is a dependent variable. iv. Library profession is an independent variable.

Assertion (A): Ackroyd and Hughes's classification of surveys into factual, attitude, and explanatory types is significant for user study methodology beyond merely categorizing data collection tools. Reason (R): The three survey types correspond to fundamentally different research purposes — description, measurement of perception, and theory-testing, respectively — meaning that the choice of survey type determines not only the data collection method but also the epistemological stance and analytical framework of the entire study.

A research method primarily employed in forecasting future events based on the opinion of experts is: