Read the report below and make judgments on the quality of random sampling for the study, using the scheme outlined above: (a) very well met, (b) moderately well met, (c) somewhat well met, or (d) not very well met. Then briefly explain your reasoning for the four judgments you made.

Story 2: Acupuncture Shown to Ease Knee Pain Acupuncture eased the suffering of people with arthritis of the knee, according to a study published in December 2004. A total of 570 people aged 50 or older with osteoarthritis of the knees selected from a nationwide hospital registry of osteoarthritis patients, were given a course of traditional Chinese acupuncture or two other inactive types of treatment. "We tried to apply good science to an ancient therapy and found it was safe and effective in combination with standard care;' said Dr. Brian Berman, director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland, who directed the study appearing in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine. Patients getting the acupuncture treatment showed significant improvement of about 40 percent both in reduced pain and improved function of their joints during the six-month trial, which involved 23 treatments given with diminishing frequency. They said they noticed increased function in their knee by the eighth week and reported significant pain reduction by week 14. All the patients had experienced significant pain in the past month despite taking various antiinflammatory and pain medications. They continued to take their medicines while receiving acupuncture. Within-the study group, 190 patients received true acupuncture treatment using needles and electrical stimulation; another 191 received sham acupuncturea procedure that uses a screen to keep patients from seeing if needles are actually inserted at treatment points while an acupuncturist pretends to do the procedure. The remaining patients took part in an Arthritis Foundation of America self-help course for managing their condition. The researchers stressed in a briefing that the acupuncture treatments were being tested as a complement to other therapyneither a replacement nor a cure for arthritis of the knee. ''Just because acupuncture is 2000 years old doesn't mean it's magic," said Dr. Stephen Straus, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which funded the study along with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease.