Description
The following USA Today article, Contraceptive is linked to high STD riskLinks to an external site., written by Rita Rubin, appeared in the Springfield News-Leader on Monday, August 23rd, 2004, on page 1A. Please read it, then answer the questions provided in a Word document. Just copy and paste the questions into the Word document and then write in the answers.
Describe the sample population in the study.
How many subjects are enrolled in the study?
What are their ages?
How many are single vs married?
How many partners does each subject have?
Have the subjects used birth control before?
How are they grouped in the study?
Answer the following questions:
What is/are the independent variable(s) in this research? (Think “potential cause”)
What is the dependent variable? (Think “potential effect”)
What term best describes this research— experimental, correlative, or descriptive? Why?
Is there a control group present?
What conclusions are reached regarding the outcome of the study? Is this an example of inductive or deductive reasoning? Could other conclusions be made based on different interpretations of the data?
Do you see any potential problems with the sample group, the way in which variables were organized, or the way in which this study was conducted? Would you have done anything differently?
Is the author of this article one of the researchers, or someone who is knowledgeable in interpreting the scientific method (in other words, what are the author’s credentials?)
Could more research on this topic be conducted as an experiment? Why or why not?
The newspaper article you read is based on an article published previously in USA Today, which in turn is based on the original scientific study published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Do you see any potential problems with the way the material is presented in the newspaper article?
