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Writing: Strokes People who have had strokes are often put on "blood thinners" such as aspirin or Coumadin to help prevent a second stroke. Describe the design of a controlled experiment to determine whether aspirin or Coumadin works better in preventing second strokes. Assume you have 300 people who have had a first stroke to work with. Include all the features of a good experiment. Also decide how the results would be determined.

Short Answer

Expert verified
Randomly divide the 300 stroke patients into two groups, give one group aspirin and the other Coumadin, while keeping all other treatments and lifestyle factors constant. Monitor the patients over a fixed period and compare the frequency of second strokes in both groups. The drug that yields fewer second strokes would be considered more effective.

Step by step solution

01

Allocation of Experimental Groups

Randomly divide the 300 participants into two groups of 150 each. One group will receive aspirin, acting as the first experimental group. The other group will receive Coumadin and act as the second experimental group.
02

Control of Variables

All other treatments and lifestyle factors should be kept constant across all participants to the best extent possible. Any variable that is not strictly controlled might influence the outcome and create bias in the results. Hence, diet, exercise, other medications, etc., should be identical for individuals in both groups.
03

Determination of Success Criteria

Nominate a follow-up period during which you will observe the participants to record the occurrence of any second strokes. The success criteria in this case would be the absence of a second stroke during this period.
04

Conduct the Experiment and Record the Data

Administer the specified medication to each group and then monitor the health status of each participant during the selected follow-up period and record any incidences of second stroke.
05

Interpreting the Results

At the end of the follow-up period, compare the frequency of second strokes in both groups. The medication that yields fewer second strokes during the follow-up period in its respective group would be deemed more effective in preventing the occurrence of a second stroke.

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Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

Control Groups
A control group is essential in an experimental study to isolate the effect of the treatment being tested. In the context of comparing aspirin and Coumadin, each group receiving one of the medications serves as a control for the other. While both groups consist of participants taking a medication to prevent strokes, they allow for a direct comparison to assess which treatment may be more effective. Control groups help to establish a baseline or standard to compare the effects of the different treatments. This ensures that any observed differences in outcomes, such as the frequency of second strokes, can be attributed to the medication rather than external factors.
Randomization
Randomization is the process of randomly assigning participants to different groups in a study. It is a critical step in experimental design to ensure that the groups are equivalent at the start of the experiment. In the case of comparing aspirin and Coumadin, each of the 300 participants should be randomly assigned to one of the two groups. This means that any characteristics that might affect the outcome, like age or health status, are evenly distributed across both groups. Randomization helps to minimize bias and confounding variables, thus making the results of the experiment more reliable.
Success Criteria
Establishing clear success criteria is vital for determining the effectiveness of treatments in an experiment. For the stroke prevention study, the success criterion is defined as the absence of a second stroke during the follow-up period. This objective measure allows researchers to easily quantify and compare the efficacy of aspirin versus Coumadin. It gives a clear target or endpoint to assess whether a treatment has succeeded. Without clear success criteria, it would be challenging to draw meaningful conclusions from the experimental data.
Data Collection
Data collection involves gathering information systematically during an experiment to draw conclusions. In the context of the aspirin and Coumadin study, data would include any occurrences of second strokes in participants during the designated follow-up period. It is crucial to record this data systematically to ensure accuracy and reliability. Proper data collection allows researchers to analyze results and determine which medication is more effective. Additionally, maintaining detailed logs of all variables being controlled helps support the reliability of the results.
Variable Control
Controlling variables is about ensuring that conditions are kept constant across all groups in an experiment. This means that apart from the medication, all other factors such as diet, exercise, and other medications should be the same for both groups. Variable control is crucial because if other factors vary, they could introduce bias. For example, if participants in one group engage in significantly more exercise than those in the other, this might influence stroke prevention outcomes irrespective of the medication effect. By controlling these variables, researchers can be more confident that any difference in outcomes is due to the treatment itself.

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