Use the Following to Answer Questions

question 100

Multiple Choice

Use the following to answer questions
Scenario I
Scenario I is based on fabricated data inspired by the following study:
Pande, A. C., Crockatt, J. C., Feltner, D. E., et al. (2003) . Pregabalin in generalized anxiety disorder: a placebo-controlled trial. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(3) , 533-540.
Effect of Pregabalin on Anxiety
Pande and colleagues examined whether pregabalin (brand name Lyrica) was as effective as lorazepam (brand name Ativan) in treating anxiety. To that end, they administered either a low dose of pregabalin, a high dose of pregabalin, lorazepam, or placebo to participants for four weeks, then measured the participants' anxiety using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. The researchers found that not only did the high dose of pregabalin significantly reduce anxiety, but that it also reduced anxiety as well as lorazepam. The results of the study (Figure 1) indicate that pregabalin may be an effective alternative to lorazepam to treat anxiety in adults.
Figure 1. Hypothetical results of Pande et al (2003) showing the impact of each treatment on anxiety level. Anxiety was measured using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale.
-(Scenario I) Which of the following is an ethical issue apparent in Figure 1?

• A) Not including error bars suggests the researchers are withholding information about variability.
• B) The scale of the y axis is such that it makes the effect of the drug appear to be greater than it actually is.
• C) How anxiety was operationalized is not presented in the figure.
• D) The dose of each drug is not presented along the y axis.

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Definitions:

Clinical Researcher

A professional involved in conducting scientific studies to evaluate and improve healthcare interventions, diagnostics, and treatments.

Efficacy

The ability to produce a desired or intended result, often used in the context of medicine to describe the effectiveness of a treatment.

Longitudinal Study

An observational research method in which data is gathered for the same subjects repeatedly over a period of time.

Developmental Trends

Patterns and sequences of development observed over time, which can include physical, cognitive, and social changes.