A pharmaceutical company developed a new medicine for compulsive behavior. To test this medicine on humans, the company advertised for volunteers who were suffering from this disease and wanted to participate in the study. As a result, 1820 persons responded. Using their own judgment, the group of physicians who were conducting this study assigned 910 of these patients to the treatment group and the remaining 910 to the control group. The patients in the treatment group were administered the actual medicine, and the patients in the control group were given a placebo. Six months later the conditions of the patients in the two groups were examined and compared. Based on this comparison, the physicians concluded that this medicine improves the condition of patients suffering from compulsive behavior.
a. Comment on this study and its conclusion.
b. Is this an observational study or a designed experiment? Explain.
c. Is this a double-blind study? Explain.