Question

Andria is conducting an experiment to determine whether a new medication is effective in reducing swelling. She gets 1,000 volunteers with swelling and divides them into 2 groups. The control group does not receive any medication; the treatment group receives the medication. The patients in the treatment group show reduced signs of swelling. What can Andria conclude from this experiment?

Answer 1

The medicine treats swelling

Explanation:

"The control group does not receive any medication; the treatment group receives the medication. The patients in the treatment group show reduced signs of swelling. What can Andria conclude from this experiment?"

If she does not give placebo, which she should, then we can only conclude that the medication might be effective. Might, because the thought of the medicine fixing swelling might actually be what helps them.

This takes us to the next topic- placebo experiments.

Most good experiments, to elaborate, are "double blind," one group receives a placebo, and another the medication, and neither know which.

In this case, assuming that the placebo was ineffective, we can conclude that the medicine is effective in treating swelling.