A full-page magazine ad for a new medication describes a clinical trial as follows: "Four different groups of subjects were given the same dosage. The groups are listed in the table below. In both 40 to 60 age groups, the medication reduced symptoms in 80% of patients. In both 20 to 40 age groups, the medication reduced symptoms in 40% of patients." Which of the following correctly describes this study?
Age Group
Aged 20 to 40
Aged 40 to 60

No. of Men
18
20

No. of Women
18
15

Unscientific: Too few women were included in the study.

Scientific: The group size

Question

A full-page magazine ad for a new medication describes a clinical trial as follows: "Four different groups of subjects were given the same dosage. The groups are listed in the table below.  In both 40 to 60 age groups, the medication reduced symptoms in 80% of patients. In both 20 to 40 age groups, the medication reduced symptoms in 40% of patients." Which of the following correctly describes this study?
 Age Group
 Aged 20 to 40
 Aged 40 to 60
 
No. of Men
 18
 20
 
No. of Women
 18
 15
 


 Unscientific: Too few women were included in the study. 

 Scientific: The group size

blues · Answer

Roughly the same number of men and women were included in both groups. And as for sample size, picking a sufficiently large sample for the results to be "statistically significant" is a very complicated aspect of experimental design.

That said, would you comfortably extend conclusions about efficacy drawn on the drug responses of about 75 people to drug responses of entire populations (i.e, millions of people)?

anonymous · Answer

So what are you thinking tha answer is?

blues · Answer

Think about how comfortable you would feel taking the results from a sample of about 75 people and basing conclusions about an entire population on them.