Abstract
The issue of appropriate research designs for studying heroin use and treatment for heroin addiction is one of the more problematic in the field. The true experiment, with random assigimient of subjects to treatment versus no treatment is generally considered the surest path to valid knowledge in both medicine and social science (Campbell and Stanley, 1963, the classic statement of the virtues of experimental design). With respect to the treatment of heroin addiction, there is a generally held belief that the patients’ life situations have been rapidly deteriorating just prior to beginning treatment, and thus might be expected to improve over time even if treatment is not provided.
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© 1984 Spectrum Publications, Inc.
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Des Jarlais, D.C. (1984). Research Design, Drug Use, and Deaths: Cross Study Comparisons. In: Serban, G. (eds) Social and Medical Aspects of Drug Abuse. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6320-0_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6320-0_21
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-011-6322-4
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