Question

1. allergy drug. a pharmaceutical company wants to test the effectiveness of a new allergy drug. the company identifies 250 females 30-35 years old who suffer from severe allergies. the subjects are randomly assigned into two groups. one group is given the new allergy drug and the other is given a placebo that looks exactly like the new allergy drug. after six months, the subjects’ symptoms are studied and compared.

a. identify the experimental units and treatments used in this experiment.

b. identify a potential problem with the experimental design being used and suggest a way to improve it.

c. how could this experiment be designed to be double-blind?

Explanation:

The researchers/medical staff who administer the drug/placebo and who evaluate the subjects' symptoms should also be unaware of which subjects are in the drug group and which are in the placebo group. This can be achieved by using a third - party to assign groups and keep the assignment hidden from both subjects and the evaluating staff until the end of the experiment.

Answer:

To be double - blind: 1) Subjects don't know their group (already partially met as placebo looks like drug). 2) The staff (administering drug/placebo, assessing symptoms) also don't know which subjects are in the drug group or placebo group. A third - party can manage group assignment, keeping it hidden from subjects and staff until the experiment ends.