Treatment of Subjects

Name:____________________________

Date:_______________

We have already discussed in the previous task that we can conduct two types of
statistical studies: observational and experimental. What we didnt discuss is how we might
collect two types of data. The two types of data we will utilize are:
Primary data: Data that you collect directly. Sources of this data could include
experiments, surveys, or observations.
Secondary data: Data that have been collected by someone else and are available
to the researcher. Sources of this data could include the internet, historical
documents, books magazines, etc.
1. Identify whether the following data collections are considered primary data or secondary
data. Explain why.
a. Mr. Branson asked all of his students who they liked more, Hall and Oats or Jimi
Hendrix. He tallied their responses on an old crusty piece of paper.

b. Mr. Sellars observed how many times his students used the bathroom in a week
and found that students use the bathroom the most on Fridays.

c. In order to get ready for a big Air Rifle coaches speech, Mr. Winger investigated
famous speeches given by past Ohio State football coaches.

When collecting primary data, often a researcher will conduct what is called a pilot
study. A pilot study is a preliminary study that mocks the first study on a smaller scale.
2. Why do you think it makes sense for a researcher to conduct a pilot study prior to
conducting the entire research plan?

When collecting secondary data, we have to make sure that the data that we collect is
reliable, or able to be trusted.
3. Why do you think it is important for your data to be reliable when conducting research?

If we are going to conduct observational or experimental research, we MUST first

consider the ethical obligations we must uphold as a researcher.
4. What does it mean to be ethical?

Most institutions of research have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) who is

responsible for maintaining the ethical considerations towards subjects of experimental and
observational research. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug
Administration examines and assesses the effectiveness of each institutions IRB.
5. The following scenarios require you to consider the ethical obligations of participants.
Answer each question as though you were the researcher in the study.
a. Pick one of the following classes of human subjects and describe why they need
protection as a participant of research. Select from the following list: fetuses,
women, children/minors, cognitively impaired persons, prisoners, traumatized or
comatose patients, terminally ill patients, elderly/aged persons, minorities,
students, or employees.

b. How could excluding (not allowing them to participate) classes of people from
research studies affect the reliability of your findings?

c. How could a survey or questionnaire be dangerous to participants?

d. Why is informed consent of human subjects important?

e. What factors should you consider in deciding whether to pay volunteers to

participate in a study?