Exam 1: Process of Science

Scientific studies within a single ethnic population

Which published scientific data would be most reliable?

A scientific theory is

When scientists carry out an experiment,they are testing a _____.

Where are the most reliable scientific results published?

An experiment was performed using 1000 nonsmoking males ages 18 to 22.Which of the following experimental groups would most likely produce the most similar results?

Two studies were carried out to determine if children in daycare got more ear infections than children who stayed at home.The first study compared ear infection rates in 50 Canadian girls ages 1 to 2,half of whom attended daycare and half of whom stayed home.The second study compared ear infection rates in 1000 Swedish boys ages 3 to 4,half of whom attended daycare and half of whom stayed home.The results of these two studies differed greatly. Which of the following is LEAST likely to be the cause of such differences?

You finish a research project and submit your findings to a journal for peer review.The reviewers decide that they do not think your experimental results were convincing enough to support or disprove your hypothesis.What is your next step?

A large sample size is important for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A placebo is given to the:

In which of the following would you have the most confidence?

A scientific theory

In a controlled experiment,which group receives the placebo?

I carried out a series of experiments testing the effect of caffeine on mice.I used two mice.I fed one mouse caffeinated water and fed the other plain water.I then measured the ability of each mouse to find its way through a maze.I timed their progress.My results were exciting and conclusive,the caffeinated mouse found his way through the maze much more rapidly and accurately than the noncaffeinated mouse.I sent my results to a peer-reviewed journal but they rejected my paper.They said the results were not valid.Why?

You carry out a clinical trial to test whether a new drug relieves the symptoms of arthritis better than a placebo.You have four groups of participants,all of whom have mildly painful arthritis (rated 6 on a scale of 1 to 10).Each group receives a daily pill as follows: group 1 (control),placebo;group 2,15 mg;group 3,25 mg;group 4,50 mg.At the end of 2 weeks,participants in each group are asked to rate their pain on a scale of 1 to 10.The mean pain rating of the participants was 6.5 for the placebo,6.0 for 15 mg of the drug,4.5 for 25 mg of the drug,and 4.5 for 50 mg of the drug.What is your next step?

Which of the following places the steps of the scientific process in the correct order?

A hypothesis must be ____ and _____.

How can statistics be used in a scientific study?

All of the following are true of a clinical trial EXCEPT

You should not use just one epidemiological study to make policy decisions because