A preliminary study conducted at a medical center in St. Louis has shown that treatment with
small, low intensity magnets reduces the self-reported level of pain in polio patients. During each session, a
patient rested on an examining table in the doctor's office while the magnets, embedded in soft pads, were
strapped to the body at the site of pain. Sessions continued for several weeks, after which pain reduction was
measured. A new study is being designed to investigate whether magnets also reduce pain in patients suffering
from herniated disks in the lower back. One hundred male patients are available for the new study.
(a) Describe an appropriate design for the new study. Your discussion should briefly address treatments used,
methods of treatment assignment, and what variables would be measured. Do not describe how the data would
be analyzed.
(b) Would you modify the design above if, instead of 100 male patients, there were 50 male and 50 female
patients available for the study? If so, how would you modify your design? If not, why not