1. Does Oat Bran
Reduce Cholesterol?
Team 9

2. Subjects/Experimental Units
100
volunteers
with high
cholesterol

3. Explanatory Variables
• Explanatory
Variable: Oat
Bran
• Categorical
(oat bran vs.
no oat bran)

4. Treatments
• 50 of the volunteers- oat bran
• 50 of the volunteers- no oat bran
vs.

5. Response Variable
• Response Variable: The decrease in
cholesterol levels
• Quantitative

6. Experimental Design
Treatment 150 volunteers:
oat bran
100 Volunteers w/
high cholesterol
Random
Assignment
(Hat Method)
Compare
decrease in
Cholesterol
Treatment 250 volunteers:
no oat bran

7. Experimental Design Principles
• Control: the 50 volunteers that do not get oat
bran
• Randomization: randomize who gets oat bran
by using the hat method
• Replication: 100 volunteers will be monitored
for 6 months

8. Method of Randomization
Hat Method
• Assign each volunteer a unique number
from 1-100.
• Put these numbers in a hat and shake the
hat.
• Draw numbers one by one until you reach
50.
• The first 50 drawn will receive Treatment 1
(eat oat bran) and the second 50 drawn
will receive Treatment 2 (don’t eat oat
bran).

9. Blocking or Blinding?
• Blocking: There is no blocking needed in this
experimental design
• Blinding: Blinding is unnecessary/impossible in
this experiment because the volunteers will
know if they are eating oat bran or not. Also,
the evaluators would have no way of being
bias because the numbers could not lie.

10. Concerns
Confounding Variables:
• Normal diet of
volunteers
• Exercise routine

11. Conclusion
If we have successful data, our experiment
would prove that oat bran does in fact reduce
cholesterol .