Suppose That Two Experiments Were Conducted to Assess the Effect

question 19

Essay

Suppose that two experiments were conducted to assess the effect of a new insect repellant. In Experiment A, a simple random sample was taken from the population of River City. In Experiment B, a simple random sample from a group of volunteers from the population of River City was used. The results of the experiments were the same: fewer insects landed on the arms that had been treated with the insect repellant. The volunteers were randomly assigned to the two treatments in both experiments. (a) For each experiment, A and B, discuss whether one can legitimately infer a cause-and-effect relation between the use of the repellant and fewer insects landing from each of these experiments? Why or why not? (b) For each experiment, A and B, discuss whether one can legitimately generalize to the population of River City from each of these experiments? Why or why not?

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Definitions:

Moral Agency

The capacity of individuals to make moral judgments based on the notion of right and wrong, and to be held accountable for these actions.

Sex Inequalities

This term involves the disparities and unequal treatment or perceptions that individuals face based on their sex, affecting various dimensions of life including work, health, and education.

Socialist Feminism

A branch of feminism that focuses on both the public and private spheres of a woman's life, asserting that liberation can only be achieved by working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression.

Global Capitalist System

An economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods determined primarily by competition in a global market.