To determine if topiramate is an effective treatment for alcohol dependence, researchers conducted a 14-week trial of 371 men and women aged 18 to 65 years diagnosed with alcohol dependence. in this double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled experiment, subjects were randomly given either 300 milligrams (mg) of topiramate (183 subjects) or a placebo (188 subjects) daily, along with a weekly compliance enhancement intervention. the variable used to determine the effectiveness of the treatment was self-reported percentage of heavy drinking days. results indicated that topiramate was more effective than placebo at reducing the percentage of heavy drinking days. the researchers concluded that topiramate is a promising treatment for alcohol dependence. complete parts (a) through (f).

A) The experiment will have a control group that takes a placebo, which is a innocuous medication, such as a sugar tablet. This control group serves as a baseline treatment that can be used to compare to the group that is actually taking the medication.

B) Neither the subject nor the researcher knows which treatment the subject is receiving. The experiment is double-blind so that the subjects receiving the medication do not behave differently and so the individual monitoring the subjects does not treat those receiving medication differently from those receiving a placebo.

C) It means that the subjects are randomly assigned to take either the topiramate or the placebo.

D) The population is all 18-65 year olds with alcohol dependence. The sample is 371 men and women aged 18 to 65 years diagnosed with alcohol dependence.

E) 300 mg of topiramate or a placebo daily, and a weekly compliance enhancement intervention

F) Percentage of heavy drinking days