BIO 311C Introductory Biology I K.

Sata Sathasivan

Discussion Section Quiz 1: The Scientific Method

Your Name __Shan Rizvi______________________________ EID____shr544__________

Read the paper in this same folder:

Braun, C., Stangler, T., Narveson, J. and Pettingell, S., 2009. Animal-assisted therapy as a pain relief
intervention for children. Complementary therapies in clinical practice, 15(2), pp.105-109.

Then answer the following questions: (Do not exceed more than 2 pages in total with answers). Save as
a new file with your name. Then upload this file in Canvas Assignment DSQ 1, by 10 AM on Monday.

1) What is the hypothesis being tested?

That AAT would result in “no statistical or clinical differences in pain and vital signs” for children ages 3-
17 years.

2) What is/are the organisms being studied?

Immunocompetent children ages 3–17 years of age

3) What are the treatments and controls in these experiments?

The treatment is a 15–20 minutes session with the AAT dog and handler and the controls were to have
the child sit quietly for 15 minutes in an uninterrupted, calm environment

4) What were the results?

That there is strong evidence that AAT can be an effective method for reducing pain in children. Pain
reduction was four times greater in those children undergoing AAT as compared to those relaxing
quietly for 15 min.

5) List 2 or 3 conclusions drawn from this study.

 AAT can be an effective method for reducing pain in children and promote calmness in children
with post-traumatic stress disorder.
 A pet can be a great way to reduce stress and pain for people with a sickness
 6) What were the limitations of this study?
 Wasn’t truly randomized
 The dog used for the AAT passed away so the sample size is low

7) Is this holistic, reductionist and in vivo or in vitro method?

Reductionist and in vivo

8) Which part of the paper you do not understand?

I think I understood the paper well since I’ve taken several statistics classes which helps to understand
the results.