double-blind experiment
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A scientific experimental procedure: A "double-blind experiment" is a research method designed to eliminate bias. In this procedure, both the participants (subjects) and the researchers (experimenters) directly administering the treatment or assessment are unaware of ("blind to") which participants belong to the control group and which belong to the experimental group. This design guards against the influence of expectations on the results.
Usage
- This term is used primarily in formal, scientific contexts such as medical trials, psychological research, and other fields requiring rigorous empirical testing.
- It describes the gold standard for testing the efficacy of new drugs, therapies, or interventions.
Examples
- Noun:
- The new medication's effectiveness was confirmed through a rigorous double-blind experiment.
- To ensure objective results, the study was conducted as a double-blind experiment where neither the doctors nor the patients knew who received the real pill.
Advanced Usage
- "to conduct a double-blind experiment": To carry out research using this specific methodological design.
- The team will conduct a double-blind experiment to test the new cognitive therapy.
- "in a double-blind experiment": Used to describe the conditions or findings within such a study.
- The positive effects observed in the double-blind experiment were statistically significant.
Variants and Related Words
- Double-blind study (n): A synonym for "double-blind experiment," often used interchangeably.
- The findings from the double-blind study were published in a reputable journal.
- Double-blind procedure (n): Refers to the methodological protocol itself.
- The research protocol specified a double-blind procedure.
- Single-blind experiment (n): An experiment where only the participants are unaware of their group assignment, but the researchers are not.
- Blinding (n): The general methodological practice of keeping information about group assignment hidden from participants and/or researchers to prevent bias.
Synonyms
- Blinded trial: A general term for experiments using blinding techniques.
- Randomized controlled trial (RCT): A closely related term; many RCTs use a double-blind design, but "RCT" specifically emphasizes random assignment to groups.
Related Phrases
- Placebo-controlled: Often used in conjunction with "double-blind" to describe an experiment where the control group receives a placebo (an inactive substance).
- The research was a placebo-controlled, double-blind experiment.
Noun
- an experimental procedure in which neither the subjects of the experiment nor the persons administering the experiment know the critical aspects of the experiment
- a double-blind procedure is used to guard against both experimenter bias and placebo effects