Comparison in Scientific Research | Process of Science | Quiz

Which of the following topics would be best suited to comparative research?

Studying the prevalence of alcoholism in the elderly.

Identifying the orbits of newly discovered planets around stars.

Determining the effect of caffeine on fetal development.

Measuring the effects of various herbicides on common weeds.
One principal difference between comparative research and experimental research is that the comparative researcher does not subject a group to a treatment, but rather observes a group that either by choice or circumstance has been subject to a treatment.

true

false
The difference between a retrospective study and a prospective study is

retrospective studies find negative effects, and prospective studies identify positive effects.

retrospective studies look at historical events, while prospective studies look at events from the present forward.

retrospective studies are less scientific than prospective studies.

retrospective studies do not rely on data, while prospective studies do.
Comparative research studies are by definition less valid than experiments.

true

false
The comparative method can be used to answer questions about

the side effects of a chemical or drug.

the effects of man-made pollutants on the environment.

the likelihood that a suspect's DNA matches that left at a crime scene.

all of the choices are correct
Researchers conducting comparative studies use sample groups that are as similar to one another as possible. This is because they want to

increase the number of individuals providing data.

increase the number of treatments to use with the groups.

reduce the number of controls affecting the results.

reduce the number of variables affecting the results.
When Richard Doll and Austin Hill published their research in 1950, they stated that "smoking is a factor, and an important factor, in the production of carcinoma of the lung." Why couldn't they simply say that smoking causes lung cancer?

There are other, uncontrollable variables that contribute to the disease.

They did not have enough evidence to connect smoking with lung cancer.

Research was being conducted on other causes of lung cancer at the time.

They couldn't rule out the possibility that lung cancer caused people to smoke.