what is a double blind study

A double-blind study is a type of randomized clinical trial in which neither the participants nor the researchers know who is receiving a particular treatment. This is done to prevent bias when doctors evaluate patients outcomes, which improves the reliability of clinical trial results. In a double-blind study, participants are randomly assigned to either an experimental group that receives the investigational treatment or a control group that receives a placebo. Neither the researchers nor the study subjects know who is getting the experimental treatment and who is getting a placebo. This is different from a single-blind study, where only the subjects are blinded to the treatment allocation. Triple-blinding involves withholding this information from the patients, researchers, as well as data analysts. Double-blind studies are commonly used in clinical research to ensure the validity of the results.