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Randomized Control Trials are known as:
Randomized Control Trials are known as:
The Gold Standard of research
A “True Experiment”
(Bhattacherjee, 2012)
A Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is a type of research design that consists of one (or more) treatment (the independent variable) that is randomly assigned to subjects (dependent variables), and outcomes are then observed by the researcher.
RCTs are unique in that a cause-and-effect link can be established by ways of manipulating a specific treatment while also controlling extraneous variables that can affect the study (Bhattacherjee, 2012)
Randomization and Blinding
Randomization is an important aspect of RTCs. Subjects are both randomly selected and randomly assigned. Both the treatment group and the control group consist of similar characteristics, and subjects are randomly assigned to one. Sometimes, there are multiple experimental groups and only one control group. Treatments are then manipulated by the researcher by means of performing pre and post experiment testing (Bhattacherjee, 2012)
Blinding is often used to minimize bias in RTCs. This may be single blinding (the independent variable), double or triple blinding (investigators and/or study team). Research with the highest level of blinding possible is best (Houle, 2015)
Watch this quick 5 minute video for an explanation of RCTs
Watch this quick 5 minute video for an explanation of RCTs
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