Chapter 2 - Nature of Evidence Flashcards
Why are large sample sizes important?
Because of variations in populations. The larger the sample size, the more it represents the population.
Controlled conditions are…
Variables that are controlled during an experiment.
If the difference is statistically significant, than we can ____ the null hypothesis.
reject
Why do we blind experiments?
To avoid patient expectations. To avoid the researchers giving intentional or unintentional hints. So the researcher doesn’t interpret the results in a biased way.
Does modern science give us ‘the truth’?
It gives us the best approximation that we can think of and understand.
The perception of the world depends on how a person ____ the world.
Conceives
How much more likely are you to die if you have cancer if you only use alt med instead of OM?
2.4x more likely to die
Single blind
Subjects do not know which treatment they are receiving.
Major successes in orthodox medicine
Vaccines, longer life expectancies, lower childhood mortality rates, defeating formerly important infectious diseases.
Why can’t we prove anything?
Because we’d have to do a test everywhere during every time period in order to prove it always works.
Theories
Like a big hypothesis that explains many things at once, and has survived many tests.
Why are controlled conditions important?
So that any experimental effects could only be due to the thing being tested.
Statistical tests estimate the ______ that a difference between treatments is due to a random background variation.
Probability
Null hypothesis
Predicts that an experiment will show no treatment effect compared to control.
Hypothesis
A potential explanation
Lower childhood mortality rates due to…
Vaccinations, clean drinking water and antibiotics.
An alternative hypothesis predicts…
different treatment outcomes.
Statistically significant
It is probable that there is a real difference between treatments.
Double blind
Neither the subject nor the researcher knows which treatment a subject is receiving.
If the probability of any treatment difference being due to change is less than ___, then it is agreed that there is a real difference between treatments.
0.05
Why are subjects randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group?
To ensure that the different study groups are not different in some way before the study even begins.
The best experiments have…
Controlled conditions; large sample sizes; precise, objective measurements; accurate recording; randomization; blinding; and an appropriate way to analyze the results.
Articles are only published if…
they are judged acceptable by at least 2 experts in the field.
Science
One method for finding explanations to phenomena
3 steps in the scientific method
1: organization of thought; 2. hypothesis testing; 3. publication.
Examples of phenomena that the scientific method has been successful in explaining
Atomic theory, physiology, gene theory, evolution.
Paradigm
A particular world view. A cohesive set of explanations for how and why things happen the way they do.
