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Another possible design is to include several experimental groups, each of which is given a different dosage of the new drug, plus one control group.

If the new drug is effective, the experimental group is expected to have a significantly better response to it than the control group.

Each group is then given the same questionnaire and asked to rate the effectiveness of the drug in relieving symptoms. For instance, in a pharmaceutical study to determine the effectiveness of a new drug on the treatment of migraines, the experimental group will be administered the new drug and the control group will be administered a placebo (a drug that is inert, or assumed to have no effect). See also scientific method.Ī typical use of a control group is in an experiment in which the effect of a treatment is unknown and comparisons between the control group and the experimental group are used to measure the effect of the treatment. Indeed, only in the presence of a control group can a researcher determine whether a treatment under investigation truly has a significant effect on an experimental group, and the possibility of making an erroneous conclusion is reduced. Inclusion of a control group greatly strengthens researchers’ ability to draw conclusions from a study. Ideally, the control group and the experimental groups are identical in every way except that the experimental groups are subjected to treatments or interventions believed to have an effect on the outcome of interest while the control group is not. Many experiments are designed to include a control group and one or more experimental groups in fact, some scholars reserve the term experiment for study designs that include a control group.