PSYC 2030 Study Guide - Final Guide: Behaviorism, Common Cold, Statistic
Document Summary
Done by random assignment (also called randomization) Each person in a population of subjects has an equal probability of being chosen at every draw. Randomized experiments considered gold standard in biomedical research. Provides a mechanism to derive probabilistic properties (p values) of estimates based on the data by controlling for extraneous variables. Randomized trials can fluctuate with regard to their potential value. Perfect control is hard to achieve because patients who suspect that they are in a placebo control group may attempt to obtain experiment treatment. Patients who experience negative affects to treatment may alter their dosage. Assigning terminal patients to a placebo group could have legal ramifications, being denied access to a potentially lifesaving drug. Knowing that randomization is being used may make some patients wary of volunteering and could jeopardize the generalizability of the results. First subject gets one treatment, second subjects automatically gets the other one: provides equal number for treatment and control.
