Random allocation – a simple explanation

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• Format Audio, Texts
• Target Audience Self-directed learning
• EBM Stage 0 - Why EBM?
• Duration <5 mins
• Difficulty Introductory

Key Concepts addressed

• 2-1a Comparison groups should be similar
• 1-2e Comparisons are needed to identify treatment effects

Details

‘Randomisation is to minimise bias and ensure that the patients in each treatment group are as similar as possible in all known and unknown factors. This will ensure that any differences found between the groups in the outcome(s) of interest are due to differences in treatment effect and not differences between the patients receiving each of the treatments.

It removes the chance that a clinician will consciously or unconsciously allocate one treatment to a particular type of patient and the other treatment to another type, or that a certain kind of patient will choose one treatment whilst another kind will choose the other.’

Harrison J. Presentation to Consumers’ Advisory Group for Clinical Trials, 1995.

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