Question

Why is it important in an experiment to test the effectiveness of a drug?

A. A placebo makes the sample less representative of the population but the data can still be used to make inferences about the population.

B. A placebo is important so that results from subjects given a treatment can be compared with the results from subjects given a placebo.

C. A placebo makes the sample more representative of the population.

D. A placebo exaggerates any psychological differences between the control group and the treatment group.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B.

When testing the effectiveness of a drug a method is used whereby two groups of people are administered a drug. One will be given the real drug and the other will be given a placebo which is usually a sugar pill. Results from both groups will be collected and used to establish whether a true effect of the actual drug has taken place.