positive control
Expected outcome verifier
A positive control is an experimental condition designed to produce a known result, confirming that the test system is working properly.
If the positive control fails, the entire experiment is suspect.
In a drug trial testing a new antibiotic, a positive control might be a proven antibiotic that reliably kills the bacteria: The positive control showed expected bacterial death, validating our methodology.
Compare with negative control, which confirms the system produces no effect without intervention.
- quality assuranceStandards compliance verification
- quality checkEvaluation of standards compliance
- pass failTwo-outcome grading system
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- reproducibilityAbility to repeat findings
reference standard · gold standard · variable · gene expression · assay · experimental design · validation · benchmarking · placebo · conditioning · hypothesis · diagnostic tool · standardization · monitoring · reward system · replication · feedback loop · corrective action
positive controlnegative control
Baseline without treatment
coercive control · authoritarian control · negative reinforcement
positive, positively, positiveness, positivity, posit, posited, positing, position, positioned