A medical researcher reads an article in Today's Health-Conscious Woman magazine about the benefits of using the phytochemical capsaicin to treat knee pain.She asks 10 people with arthritic knees to rub a cream that contains the phytochemical on their knee joints for 2 weeks.At the end of the 2 weeks,the researcher asks the subjects whether their knee pain improved,stayed about the same,or worsened during the treatment period.After collecting responses from the people,the researcher reports the results of her study during a popular TV show that is hosted by a doctor.Based on this information,which of the following statements is true?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The researcher did not divide the subjects of her study into control and treatment groups. This means that there was no comparison group to determine if the treatment had a significant effect on knee pain. This lack of a control group makes it difficult to draw any conclusions about the efficacy of capsaicin as a treatment for knee pain, as it is impossible to determine if any observed improvements were due to the treatment or simply due to natural variation or placebo effects.

A Medical Researcher Reads an Article in Today's Health-Conscious Woman