In Exercises 21–28, determine whether the study is an experime...

Question

In Exercises 21–28, determine whether the study is an experiment or an observational study, and then identify a major problem with the study.

Drinking and Driving A researcher for a consortium of insurance companies plans to test for the effects of drinking on driving ability by randomly selecting 1000 drivers and then randomly assigning them to two groups: One group of 500 will drive in New York City after no alcohol consumption, and the second group will drive in New York City after consuming three shots of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey.

Accepted Answer

All right. Hello, everyone. So, this question is asking us to determine whether the study mentioned below is an experiment or an observational study, and then identify a major problem with the study. A researcher investigating how sleep deprivation affects driving performance selects 1200 participants and randomly assigns them to two groups. The first group of 600 individuals will drive on a public highway after a full night's sleep, while the other group of 600 will drive on the same highway after remaining awake for 24 hours. And here we have 4 different answer choices labeled A through D, proposing whether or not the study is an experiment or observational, and proposing the major problem in question. So first, what is the difference between an experiment And an observational study. Now, for me at least, the key word here is observational. Because recall that in an observational study, the researcher is there to just observe. And record data based on what they see, right? The key word here is that the the researcher in an observational study is not manipulating any variables. They are just watching what happens and recording data accordingly. The same cannot be said for an experiment, right, because experiments are about manipulating variables. And seeing what happens to. To the outcome that the researcher is trying to study. So in an experiment, the researcher is deliberately manipulating variables to observe their effects. So in this particular case, the researchers. First, it divided the total group or the total sample into two different groups. And then is assigning each group to either be well rested or sleep deprived. So that implies active manipulation, right? You are actively deciding, as the researcher, whether or not each group will be well rested or sleep deprived. So this is this is an example of an experiment, which means that options A and D are incorrect. So now what is? The problem, right? What is the issue with this experiment? Well. The major issue is the fact that that the experimenters in this case, are forcing people that have been awake for 24 hours to drive on a highway. This is a major ethical and safety concern. Because at this point, the dangers of having sleep deprived individuals drive is well understood. So having somebody that hasn't slept in 24 hours drive on a public highway creates a dangerous situation not only for them, but for other people driving on the highway. So therefore, The answer here is going to be option C in the multiple choice. First, because the study is an experiment. And second, because the problem is the ethical and safety concerns. And so with that being said, Thank you so very much for watching and I hope you found this helpful.

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Key Concepts

Experimental Study

Observational Study

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