randomized controlled trial randomized controlled trial
Research that uses chance to assign participants into study groups.
Example of randomized controlled trial in a sentence
A randomized controlled trial is used to compare two or more groups.
More Info
In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), the researchers use a computer program to randomly assign which study treatment each participant receives. The computer program sometimes also randomly chooses the order of the study treatment, depending on the study.
The process of being randomized is sometimes described like “flipping a coin” or “pulling name out of a hat.” Randomization ensures that participants are put into different study groups fairly and without bias.
Other info to think about when joining a study
A randomized controlled trial is considered one of the best study designs to find out how well a study treatment works against one or more comparison groups.
If you are asked to participate in a randomized controlled trial, you may want to find out more about the different study groups, what the control group will be, and how participants will be randomized.
