A pharmaceutical company develops a new generation of blood pressure medication that may also help with cholesterol. The research and development department advertises in the local papers and online seeking volunteers who already take blood pressure medication to participate in a study for the new medication. Two hundred people volunteer, and their current blood pressure along with their cholesterol levels are measured. They are randomly assigned to two groups, one that takes the new generation of blood pressure medication and one that takes the original medication. At the end of the study, the subjects’ blood pressure and cholesterol levels are measured. The group with the new medication is found to have a significantly lower overall blood pressure than the original medication group. It was also determined that the new medication did not significantly lower cholesterol levels.
Answer
A
Inferences can be made about all blood pressure patients, and the conclusion can be made that the new medication lowers blood pressure more effectively than the original medication for patients taking blood pressure medication.
B
Inferences can be made about all blood pressure patients, but the conclusion cannot be made that the new medication lowers blood pressure more effectively than the original medication for patients taking blood pressure medication.
C
Inferences cannot be made about all blood pressure patients, and the conclusion can be made that the new medication lowers blood pressure more effectively than the original medication for patients taking blood pressure medication.
D
Inferences cannot be made about all blood pressure patients, and the conclusion cannot be made that the new medication lowers blood pressure more effectively than the original medication for patients taking blood pressure medication.
Explanation
The volunteers were recruited through advertisements, not selected as a random sample, so the results cannot safely be generalized to all blood pressure patients. However, participants were randomly assigned to the two medications, and the new-medication group had significantly lower blood pressure. This supports the conclusion that the new medication lowered blood pressure more effectively for the patients in the study; it does not establish that it also lowers cholesterol.
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