B Experiment to test for causality

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The experiment aims to evaluate the effectiveness of BitterHeal, a specially treated bitter gourd, in lowering blood sugar levels among diabetics by comparing three groups: one receiving BitterHeal, one receiving untreated bitter gourd, and a control group receiving no treatment. The inclusion of a third group helps to control for the placebo effect and assess whether untreated bitter gourd has any independent effect on blood sugar levels. The study's hypotheses focus on determining if there is a statistically significant difference in blood sugar levels between the groups. Outcomes will clarify whether BitterHeal is effective compared to both untreated bitter gourd and no treatment at all. This design is crucial for drawing valid conclusions about the causality of BitterHeal's effects on blood sugar.
  • #31
AFAIK the placebo effect does not occur in studies involving physical changes in body chemistry like serum cholesterol, and blood sugar. It is significant in studies of the subjective effect of a medication as in pain relief or mood change.

When comparing two medications for effectiveness you compare it to a (gold)standard commonly used for the treatment. The problem as I see it with this study is that we are comparing two medications of marginal value.

I assume this problem was from a statistics course, but did they fully realize the issues with this scenario? The question is what was the intent of the problem? What did they want you to learn from it?

I think you need group C to establish the effectiveness of B as well as the effectiveness of A in lowering blood sugar. Next, you can compare A and B to determine their relative effectiveness.
 

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