An experiment with a small sample is conducted to test the effectiveness of a promising new intervention for treating substance abuse.The experimental group's outcome is better than the control group's outcome, but the results are not statistically significant.The implication of this finding for evidence-based practice is:
A)The new intervention was ineffective.
B)The new intervention was effective, but not as effective as predicted.
C)It is conceivable that the new intervention is effective, although we cannot rule out sampling error as the explanation for the research finding.Additional testing of this intervention with a larger sample size would be in order.
D)None of these.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that the experimental group had a better outcome than the control group suggests that the new intervention may be effective. However, the lack of statistical significance means that it is possible that the difference in outcomes could be due to chance (sampling error). Therefore, further testing with a larger sample size would be necessary to determine the efficacy of the new intervention. Option A, stating that the new intervention was ineffective, is not necessarily true based on the information given. Option B, stating that the new intervention was effective but not as effective as predicted, is speculative and not supported by the information given.

An Experiment with a Small Sample Is Conducted to Test