Question

You also read that there was a significantly greater decrease in pain ratings for Group A than for Groups B and C, but there was no significant difference in the decrease of pain ratings for Groups B and C. What does this mean?

The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference would rarely happen by chance unless ibuprofen was less effective than acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C could be due to chance.

The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference would rarely happen by chance unless ibuprofen was equally effective to acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C could be due to chance.  

  The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference would rarely happen by chance unless ibuprofen was more effective than acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C could be due to chance.

The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference could reasonably happen by chance if ibuprofen was more effective than acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C was probably not due to chance.

The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference could reasonably happen by chance if ibuprofen was less effective than acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C was probably not due to chance.

What does this finding lead you to conclude about the use of ibuprofen as a painkiller?

Ibuprofen is the most effective painkiller of the three.

Ibuprofen is just as effective of a painkiller as the other two.   

Ibuprofen is not effective as a painkiller.

Ibuprofen is the least effective painkiller of the three.

Answer 1

1)

The correct answer is:

"The decrease in pain scores for Group A was so much greater than the decrease in scores for Groups B and C that the difference would rarely happen by chance unless ibuprofen was more effective than acetaminophen and codeine. However the difference between Groups B and C could be due to chance."

Explanation:

There are 3 comparison groups out of which Group A received Ibuprofen, Group B received acetaminophen and Group C received codeine. After analyzing the results obtained from applying suitable statistical tests, it was concluded that "there was a significantly greater decrease in pain ratings for Group A than for Groups B and C, but there was no significant difference in the decrease of pain ratings for Groups B and C."

This means that the reduction in the amount of pain (calculated using pain score) for Group A was considerably higher than that for Group B & C. This is possible if and only if Ibuprofen was more effective than the other 2 painkillers. If the difference in pain scores was small (insignificant), it would have meant that it occured merely due to chance and Ibuprofen might or might not be more effective than the other 2 painkillers.

Now on the other hand, the difference in pain scores for Group B and Group C came out to be so small (insignificant) that it could not lead to conclude which one out of acetaminophen and codeine was a better painkiller. And this difference could be merely due to chance factors.

2)

From the above explanation, it can be clearly concluded that out of all the three painkillers, Ibuprofen was the most effective as it caused the maximum reduction in pain. Hence, the correct answer is:

"Ibuprofen is the most effective painkiller of the three."