double-blind
Neither party knows
Double-blind describes an experimental design where neither the subjects nor the researchers interacting with them know who is receiving the treatment and who is receiving the placebo.
This prevents unconscious bias from affecting results or interpretations.
The method is standard in clinical trials: a double-blind study of the new vaccine.
In single-blind studies, only the subjects are kept unaware.
Introducing chance systematically
- maskingConcealing by covering
- placebo-controlledTested against inactive substance
- control groupUntreated subjects for comparison
- treatment groupParticipants receiving the intervention
study design · protocol · crossover · stratification · informed consent · eligibility criteria · enrollment · gold standard
Freedom from personal bias
- impartialityFreedom from prejudice
- unbiasedFree from prejudice
- equipoiseEqual distribution of weight
- neutralityState of taking sides
observer bias · selection bias · confirmation bias · scientific rigor · validity · reliability · reproducibility
Healing through expectation
- sugar pillInactive substitute for medicine
- shamFraudulent imitation
- dummyLifelike substitute figure
- noceboHarm from negative expectation
expectancy · mind-body · placebo response · placebo-controlled
Areas of study
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- investigatorsThose who examine facts
- researchersThose who study systematically
- cliniciansHealthcare providers seeing patients
assessors · statisticians · data analysts · sponsor · ethics committee · patients · enrollees · dropout
randomization
Introducing chance systematically
- maskingConcealing by covering
- placebo-controlledTested against inactive substance
- control groupUntreated subjects for comparison
treatment group · study design · protocol · crossover · stratification · informed consent · eligibility criteria · enrollment · gold standard · clinical research
objectivity
Freedom from personal bias
- impartialityFreedom from prejudice
- unbiasedFree from prejudice
- equipoiseEqual distribution of weight
neutrality · observer bias · selection bias · confirmation bias · scientific rigor · validity · reliability · reproducibility
placebo effect
Healing through expectation
- sugar pillInactive substitute for medicine
- shamFraudulent imitation
- dummyLifelike substitute figure
nocebo · expectancy · mind-body · placebo response · placebo-controlled
subjects
Areas of study
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- investigatorsThose who examine facts
- researchersThose who study systematically
clinicians · assessors · statisticians · data analysts · sponsor · ethics committee · patients · enrollees · dropout · attrition
- experimentsexperiment, experiments, test, tests, trials
- Psychology ResearchStanford prison experiment, Pavlov's dogs, marshmallow test, classical conditioning, operant conditioning
- research methodsexperiment, hypothesis, deduction, experiments, induction
- scientific methodexperiment, theory, data, hypothesis, observation
- Clinical Researchclinical guidelines, randomized trials, placebo, control groups, sample size
- clinical trialsclinical trial, placebo, control group, trial, phase 1
double-blindunblinded
Having sight restored
open · unmasked · single-blind · transparent · disclosed
double-blindtransparent
Allowing light through
disclosed · unconcealed · revealed · non-randomized · observational
blind, double, duplicate, blindness, doubled, blinds, blinding, doubling, blinded