Study Design Case: Randomized Controlled Trials

Summary

This paper discusses the issues of claiming RCT as the “Gold Standard” for medical research and considers the statement in the light of four terms; internal validity, confounding, feasibility and external validity. Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is a form of testing used in studies to assess whether the intervention or treatment employed works or not. RCT is also known to be a method of study that uses random sampling technique to assign participants to a control or experimental group. In RCTS, the question usually arises is that whether the treatment is effective or not? Even if the answer is in the positive, there may be certain internalities that may suggest otherwise. Even though RCT is known to be the “Gold Standard” in medical research, there may be several factors that can hamper the purpose of the study. RCT's major flaw is that is has a rather narrow scope of study. This why many experts believe that deductive methods, including RCT, do not take broader picture of the situation into consideration, thus failing to provide accuracy. This method also requires all the assumptions made to be accurate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that RCT, like all other deductive methods, has its drawbacks and cannot be considered as the best form of conducting a study. Since the nature of issues and problems vary from one another, there is no single method that can be applied to all types of studies.

Study Design Case: Randomized Controlled Trials

Introduction

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) is a form of testing used in studies to assess whether the intervention or treatment employed works or not. RCT is also known to be a method of study that uses random sampling technique to assign participants to a control or experimental group. Over the period of the study, the difference between the experimental and control groups in the RCT is the resulting variable that is studied. Like every other study design, RCT has its advantages. The greatest benefit of RCT is that when randomization is done accurately, it can reduce the probability of bias in the study. RCT's can be easier to control than the conventional observational design. Results obtained from RCTs can be analyzed through commonly-used statistical tools. The drawbacks of the RCT can the amount of time and funds that it may require to conduct the study. In addition, the population of the study may not necessarily be representative of the general audience (Matthews, 2000).

Internal validity

In RCTS, the question usually arises is that whether the treatment is effective or not? Even if the answer is in the positive, there may be certain internalities that may suggest otherwise. Internal validity of an RCT can be hampered most significantly through bias in the study. Bias in RCT is generally due to systematic errors of design or the method in which the study is conducted. Bias can deviate the study from the truth and lead to inaccurate results. Another manner in which bias may affect the study is ...