(SOLVED) What challenges do you think researchers might go through in designing a double blind study with a gold standard drug as commonly used as penicillin?
Discipline: Nursing
Type of Paper: Question-Answer
Academic Level: Undergrad. (yrs 1-2)
Paper Format: APA
Question
What challenges do you think researchers might go through in designing a double blind study with a gold standard drug as commonly used as penicillin? And how important do you think achieving true statistical randomness is to the outcome of this study?
Expert solution paper
Solution:-
Challenges researchers might go through
1) Researchers may have difficulty designing a double blind study with a gold standard drug such as penicillin, as the gold standard drug is so commonly used.
2) It may be difficult to find patients who are willing to participate in a study where they may receive a placebo instead of the gold standard drug.
3) There may be ethical concerns about withholding the gold standard treatment from some patients in the study.
4) There may be concerns about the validity of the results if some patients do not receive the gold standard treatment.
5) There may be difficulties in logistics in coordinating a study with two different treatments.
And how important do you think achieving true Statistical randomness is to the outcome of this study?
Statistical randomness is important in any study in order to ensure the validity of the results. In a double blind study, it is especially important to achieve true statistical randomness in order to avoid any biases in the results.
If researchers are not careful to achieve true statistical randomness in a double blind study with a gold standard drug such as penicillin, there may be biases in the results. For instance, if all of the patients who receive the gold standard drug are in the same group, and all of the patients who receive the placebo are in the other group, then the results of the study may be biased.
Explanation:
Challenges researchers might go through
1) Researchers may have difficulty designing a double blind study with a gold standard drug such as penicillin, as the gold standard drug is so commonly used. This could make it difficult to ensure that neither the patients nor the researchers are aware of which treatment each patient is receiving.
2) It may be difficult to find patients who are willing to participate in a study where they may receive a placebo instead of the gold standard drug. This could be due to concerns about not receiving the best possible treatment, or because of the time commitment required to participate in the study.
3) There may be ethical concerns about withholding the gold standard treatment from some patients in the study. For example, if a patient is seriously ill and the gold standard treatment is known to be effective, it may not be ethical to withhold that treatment from them in order to study a new treatment.
4) There may be concerns about the validity of the results if some patients do not receive the gold standard treatment. This could affect the interpretation of the results, as it would not be clear if the differences seen were due to the treatment or other factors. For example, if patients in the placebo group had a worse outcome than those in the treatment group, it would not be clear if this was due to the placebo or if the patients in the treatment group simply had a more favorable response to the treatment.
5) There may be difficulties in logistics in coordinating a study with two different treatments. This could include difficulties in sourcing the two different treatments, maintaining the blind if one treatment is more expensive or difficult to administer than the other, and ensuring that patients receive the correct treatment.
And how important do you think achieving true Statistical randomness is to the outcome of this study?
Statistical randomness is important in any study in order to ensure the validity of the results. In a double blind study, it is especially important to achieve true statistical randomness in order to avoid any biases in the results.
If researchers are not careful to achieve true statistical randomness in a double blind study with a gold standard drug such as penicillin, there may be biases in the results. For instance, if all of the patients who receive the gold standard drug are in the same group, and all of the patients who receive the placebo are in the other group, then the results of the study may be biased.