Methodological Problems in RCTs on IBD

Statistical and methodological considerations for reporting RCTs in medical literature

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are known to provide the most reliable evidence on intervention. However, RCTs are often conducted and reported incompletely and inadequately, making readers and reviewers unable to judge the validity and reliability of the trials. In this article, we consider the statistical and methodological issues involved in reporting on RCTs, particularly in relation to...

Methodological, planning and implementation challenges for rcts evaluating group interventions

Statistical concerns over the design and analysis of RCTs in which patients receive therapy as a group are well documented (see for instance, Roberts C, Clin Trials. 2005;2(2):152-62). By contrast, there is little discussion in the published literature of a range of other challenges to the success of such studies. These include how to plan for and manage: scheduling of participant recruitment, ...

Care for common mental health problems: applying evidence beyond RCTs.

The evidence for effective interventions for common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression is becoming increasingly complex as new therapeutic and organizational approaches are developed. I will use this piece to argue that we, as family physicians, need to consider three key theoretical issues, in addition to the traditional evidence of effectiveness in managing mental health pr...

Methodological Problems in Free-Response ESP Experiments

Various methodological problems have occurred in some recent free-response experiments in parapsychology. Statistical errors have involved improper assumptions of independence, multiple analysis of data, and, to a lesser extent, data selection and misapplication of the normal approximation to the binomial. The inability to accurately measure information in free-response judging procedures has l...

Methodological problems of clinical trials in dementia.