title: [Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)].
abstract: Randomisation is regarded as an essential principle ensuring the internal validity of clinical trials. This is why randomised controlled trials (RCTs) lead every evidence hierarchy of therapeutic interventions. At the same time, there are controversies about the role of RCTs in health research. The article addresses the principle of randomisation and deals with some of the more prominent arguments against RCT.
authors.affiliation: Medizinischer Dienst der Spitzenverbände der Krankenkassen, Essen. J.Windeler@MDS-ev.de
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Windeler
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Antes
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Behrens
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Donner-Banzhoff
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lelgemann
mesh_terms: D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D009042:Motivation; D011897:Random Allocation; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012106:Research / Q000592:standards