Question

Over a 17-year period researchers studied a sample of 707 individuals from a single community. They recorded the number of hours each individual spent watching television during adolescence and early adulthood. in later years, they recorded the number of aggressive acts by individuals in the study. Science magazine published the results in 2002 in an article titled "Television Viewing and Aggressive Behavior during Adolescence and Adulthood."

Pick the best description of this study:

A. an observational study to make an estimate or a claim about a population

B. an experiment to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables

C. an observational study of an association between two variables

Answer 1

Concept

• In an observational study, we collect data based infer some conclusions based on the collected data. We don't interfere with the subjects or affect the variables in any way. It is done to provide association between the two variables. There is no convincing evidence to claim a cause and effect relationship
• While in an experiment, we group subjects and apply some treatment to one group and leave another group without treatment and then analyze the results. One of the major goals of conducting an experiment is to check for a causal effect between the two variables

Solution

Here, in this example, researchers are observing and collecting the data over a time period. There is no treatment or control factor applied here. So, it is an example of an observational study to explain the association between two variables, television viewing and aggresive behavior

So, the correct answer is Option C