Common Terms Related to Clinical Research Studies
- Blinding: The design of a clinical research study is "blind" when one or more of the involved research parties do not know which medication the participant is taking. Blinding is done to prevent the unintentional biases that can occur when treatment assignments are known.
- Double-blind: The design of a research study in which neither the participant nor the investigator knows which medication (or placebo) the participant is receiving.
- Informed Consent: The voluntary verification of a person's willingness to participate in a clinical research study, along with the documentation thereof.
- Placebo: A placebo is an inactive substance designed to resemble the drug being tested. It is used to rule out any psychological effects testing may present.
- Randomization: Research study participants are often assigned to different treatment or control groups by chance. No particular criteria are used to assign a participant to a particular group, so all the groups in the research study will be equally comparable.
