Control Group

Control Group

Control Group (pronunciation: /kənˈtroʊl ɡruːp/) is a fundamental component in experimental design in the field of statistics, psychology, medicine, and social sciences.

Etymology

The term "Control Group" is derived from the English words "control" and "group". The word "control" comes from the Middle French contreroller meaning "to check or verify", and "group" originates from the Italian gruppo meaning "cluster" or "knot".

Definition

A Control Group is a group of individuals or cases in an experimental study that do not receive the treatment or intervention being studied. Instead, they receive no treatment, a placebo, or the standard treatment. The Control Group provides a baseline against which the effects of the treatment can be measured.

Related Terms

• Experimental Group: This is the group that receives the treatment or intervention in an experimental study. The outcomes of the Experimental Group are compared with those of the Control Group to determine the effectiveness of the treatment.

• Placebo: A placebo is a substance or treatment that has no therapeutic effect. It is often used in Control Groups to ensure that participants do not know whether they are in the Control Group or the Experimental Group.

• Randomization: This is a method used in experimental design to ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to the Control Group or the Experimental Group. Randomization helps to eliminate bias in the assignment of participants to groups.

• Blinding: This is a technique used in experimental design to prevent participants, and sometimes researchers, from knowing which group a participant is in. Blinding helps to prevent bias in the interpretation of the results.

• Baseline: This is the initial set of measurements taken before the experimental treatment is applied. The baseline allows researchers to compare the pre-treatment state with the post-treatment state.

See Also

• Clinical Trial
• Double-blind Study
• Single-blind Study
• Cohort Study
• Case-Control Study

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Control Group
• Wikipedia's article - Control Group

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