a) In order to determine if smoking causes cancer, researchers surveyed a large
ID: 3336616 • Letter: A
Question
a)
In order to determine if smoking causes cancer, researchers surveyed a large sample of adults. For each adult they recorded whether the person had smoked regularly at any period in their life and whether the person had cancer. They then compared the proportion of cancer cases in those who had smoked regularly at some time in their lives with the proportion of cases in those who had never smoked regularly at any point in their lives. The researchers found a higher proportion of cancer cases among those who had smoked regularly than among those who had never smoked regularly. What type of study is this?
a) double-blind experiment b)an experiment but not double blind experiment c)An observational study that is a sample survey d) A block design
B)
Many studies are trying to find a cure for chronic back pain. In one such study, a physician is comparing the medication currently being used (drug A) to a newly developed drug (drug B). Seventy-three volunteers, suffering from chronic back pain, are participating in this study. The physician's assistant has a list of all 73 subjects and randomly divides the subjects into two groups. Group 1 will receive drug A and Group 2 will receive drug B. The assistant is the only one who knows to which group the subjects have been assigned. The physician monitors the subjects over a 2-month period and the amount of improvement is recorded. What type of study is this?
In order to determine if smoking causes cancer, researchers surveyed a large sample of adults. For each adult they recorded whether the person had smoked regularly at any period in their life and whether the person had cancer. They then compared the proportion of cancer cases in those who had smoked regularly at some time in their lives with the proportion of cases in those who had never smoked regularly at any point in their lives. The researchers found a higher proportion of cancer cases among those who had smoked regularly than among those who had never smoked regularly. What type of study is this?
a) double-blind experiment b)an experiment but not double blind experiment c)An observational study that is a sample survey d) A block design
B)
Many studies are trying to find a cure for chronic back pain. In one such study, a physician is comparing the medication currently being used (drug A) to a newly developed drug (drug B). Seventy-three volunteers, suffering from chronic back pain, are participating in this study. The physician's assistant has a list of all 73 subjects and randomly divides the subjects into two groups. Group 1 will receive drug A and Group 2 will receive drug B. The assistant is the only one who knows to which group the subjects have been assigned. The physician monitors the subjects over a 2-month period and the amount of improvement is recorded. What type of study is this?
a)An observational study that is a sample survey b) A matched pairs experiment c)An observational study that is not a sample survey d)an experiment but not double blind experimentExplanation / Answer
a) In fields such as epidemiology, social sciences, psychology and statistics, anobservational study draws inferences from a sample to a population where the independent variable is not under the control of the researcher because of ethical concerns or logistical constraints.
The explanatory variable (smoking) was not assigned to the subjects. They just simply recorded their answers about smoking. Thus, it’s an observational study.
C option
b) The explanatory variable (drug A/B) was assigned randomly to the subjects. Thus, this is an experiment. And since the assistant is the only person who knows to which group the subject have been assigned, it is a double-blind experiment.
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.