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Treatment-group versus control-group tests

Most experiments try to determine whether some type of experimental


treatment (or important factor) has a significant effect on an outcome. For
example, does zinc help to reduce the length of a cold? Subjects who are
chosen to participate in the experiment are typically divided into two groups: a
treatment group and a control group. (More than one treatment group is
possible.)

The treatment group consists of participants who receive the


experimental treatment whose effect is being studied (in this case, zinc
tablets).

The control group consists of participants who do not receive the


experimental treatment being studied. Instead, they get a placebo (a
fake treatment; for example, a sugar pill); a standard, nonexperimental
treatment (such as vitamin C, in the zinc study); or no treatment at all,
depending on the situation.

In the end, the responses of those in the treatment group are compared with
the responses from the control group to look for differences that are
statistically significant (unlikely to have occurred just by chance).

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