To determine if Reiki is an effective method of treating pain, a pilot study was carried out where a certified second-degree Reiki therapist provided treatment on volunteers. Pain was measured using visual analogue scale (VAS) immediately before and after the Reiki treatment (Olson & Hanson, 1977) and the data in in the following table:

VAS before VAS after VAS before VAS after

6 3 5 1

2 1 1 0

2 0 6 4

9 1 6 1

3 0 4 1

3 2 4 1

4 1 7 6

5 2 2 1

2 2 4 3

3 0 8 8

Find the mean of the VAS before data sample (give answer to the nearest hundredth)

Find the mean of the VAS after data sample (give answer to the nearest hundredth)

Find the Sample Standard deviation of the VAS before data sample (give answer to the nearest hundredth)

Find the Sample Standard deviation of the VAS after data sample (give answer to the nearest hundredth)

Comparing the means and sample standard deviations of the before and after data samples, which of the following observations is TRUE?

1. mean VAS is lower after treatment and is more consistent after treatment
2. mean VAS is lower after treatment but is less consistent after treatment
3. mean VAS is lower after treatment and its consistency is approximately the same after treatment as it is before treatment
4. mean VAS is lower after treatment but there is insufficient information to compare spreads of before and after data to each other