Randomized Controlled Trials

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for research design and provide the best opportunity to conduct a systematic, unbiased, internally valid evaluation of an intervention to determine the efficacy of that intervention for a specific issue, such as an intellectual or developmental disability. Designing an intervention is the first step of a very lengthy and intricate process. This process consists of forming a question, gaining substantial knowledge on this topic, creating a theoretical or conceptual framework that will guide a researchers’ intervention, developing the intervention, deciding on study aims and hypotheses, and determining a research design. The research design is ultimately the foundation of research and plays a crucial role in helping answer the research questions. A research design is used to assess ...