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Properties of the Random Block Design for Clinical Trials

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mODa 11 - Advances in Model-Oriented Design and Analysis

Part of the book series: Contributions to Statistics ((CONTRIB.STAT.))

Abstract

To avoid deterministic treatment allocations in the permuted block design (PBD), many clinical trialists prefer randomizing the block sizes as well. While such a procedure is rarely formalized, it is generally assumed that the design will be less predictable. In this paper, we formalize the random block design by assuming a discrete uniform distribution for block size. The aim of this study is to provide a statistical understanding of the RBD, by investigating its distributional properties, including the degree of predictability and variability of treatment imbalance.

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Acknowledgements

Professor Rosenberger was supported by a scholarship from the German-American Fulbright Kommission, and also by the Department of Medical Statistics, RWTH Aachen University.

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Correspondence to Hui Shao .

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Shao, H., Rosenberger, W.F. (2016). Properties of the Random Block Design for Clinical Trials. In: Kunert, J., Müller, C., Atkinson, A. (eds) mODa 11 - Advances in Model-Oriented Design and Analysis. Contributions to Statistics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31266-8_26

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