State whether the investigation in question is an observational study or a designed experiment. Justify your answer in each case. The Salk Vaccine. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the public was greatly concerned about polio. In an attempt to prevent this disease, Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh developed a polio vaccine. In a test of the vaccine’s efficacy, involving nearly 2 million grade-school children, half of the children received the Salk vaccine, the other half received a placebo, in this case an injection of salt dissolved in water. Neither the children nor the doctors performing the diagnoses knew which children belonged to which group, but an evaluation center did. The center found that the incidence of polio was far less among the children inoculated with the Salk vaccine. From that information, the researchers concluded that the vaccine would be effective in preventing polio for all U.S. school children, consequently, it was made available for general use.

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State whether the investigation in question is an observational study or a designed experiment. Justify your answer in each case.  The Salk Vaccine. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the public was greatly concerned about polio. In an attempt to prevent this disease, Jonas Salk of the University of Pittsburgh developed a polio vaccine. In a test of the vaccine’s efficacy, involving nearly 2 million grade-school children, half of the children received the Salk vaccine, the other half received a placebo, in this case an injection of salt dissolved in water. Neither the children nor the doctors performing the diagnoses knew which children belonged to which group, but an evaluation center did. The center found that the incidence of polio was far less among the children inoculated with the Salk vaccine. From that information, the researchers concluded that the vaccine would be effective in preventing polio for all U.S. school children, consequently, it was made available for general use.

stuth1 · Accepted Answer

Step 1  Observational study:  The investigators may simply observe a predefined set of individuals and collect the data from the observations, without influencing any factors involved. This is an “observational study”.  Designed experiment:  The investigator may design and perform their own experiments my controlling and manipulating factors of their choice and collect the resulting data. This is the “designed experiment”.  Step 2  The investigators knowingly assigned the treatments- Salk vaccine or placebo, to the children and collect data on the effects of the treatments. The investigators can not only observe, but also manipulate the treatment that results in the outcomes.  Thus, the investigation is a designed experiment.

State whether the investigation in question is an observational study or a designed experiment. Justify your answer in each case. The Salk Vaccine. In

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