This chapter on the protocol, and the six that follow it, take a closer look at the clinical trial, the most popular and revered research method. The protocol lays down the rules and regulations that must be followed in a clinical trial. It is a comprehensive document and preparing it is an immensely difficult chore. Many of the elements contained in a protocol, such as identifying the control group and determining the assessments to be made, become the subject matter for future chapters. A trial still needs to be carried out according to the protocol specifications, and the choices a researcher makes in designing a study plus the decisions required in the execution of a trial, have an enormous impact on the kind of the result that will be found. Consequentially, the same medical treatment evaluated by two different research teams can easily end up with conflicting results.
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Chapter 6 — The Protocol
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(2009). The Protocol – The Guiding Light. In: It's Great! Oops, No It Isn't. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8907-7_6
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