Question

Studies are often done by pharmaceutical companies to determine the effectiveness of a treatment program. Suppose that a new AIDS antibody drug is currently under study. It is given to patients once the AIDS symptoms have revealed themselves. Of interest is the average length of time in months patients live once starting the treatment. Two researchers each follow a different set of 50 AIDS patients from the start of treatment until their deaths.
a. What is the population of this study?
b. List two reasons why the data may differ.
c. Can you tell if one researcher is correct and the other one is incorrect? Why?
d. Would you expect the data to be identical? Why or why not?
e. If the first researcher collected her data by randomly selecting 40 states, then selecting 1 person from each of those states. What sampling method is that?
f. If the second researcher collected his data by choosing 40 patients he knew. What sampling method would that researcher have used? What concerns would you have about this data set, based upon the data collection method?

Answer 1

from the Given data,

a)AIDS patients are the population of the study.

b)i) here in 50 patients we cant predict survival time of patient so data may differ.

ii)another reason may be drop out rate before completion of the tail.

c) If one researcher used randomisation technique and another choosing their own then researcher one is correct

compared to another.

d)data may not be identical because of dropout rate before completion of tails and un predicted survival time of patient.

e)systematic random variable.

f)If the second researcher collecting data by their own choice then this is not an appropriate trail to conduct the study.