Randomisation – the method by which participants are randomly allocated to treatment groups – is a fundamental feature of clinical trials. It allows valid estimation of standard errors, is vital to conceal allocations, and eliminates important sources of bias. There exist many different randomisation methods and each method may perform differently depending on the design of the trial. There is a lack of consensus on which methods are most appropriate in different situations. We conducted a review of papers published in five journals in 2019 to assess which randomisation methods are most commonly being used, as well as identifying which aspects of study design, if any, are associated with the choice of randomisation method. Randomisation methodology use was also compared with a similar review conducted in 2014. This webinar summarised the methodology and findings of this review and discussed some of the next steps for this research
Cydney Bruce is a Medical Statistician alongside being a part-time PhD student at the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, as part of the Trials Methodology Research Partnership’s cohort of PhD students. She has a BSc in Mathematics from Keele University and an MSc in Medical Statistics from the University of Leicester. Cydney’s main interest is in clinical trials methodology, and her PhD is focused on randomisation methodology, with the overarching aim of developing guidance for randomisation method selection in a clinical trial setting.
