American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam (ABS QE) Practice Test

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Prepare for the American Board of Surgery Qualifying Exam with detailed quizzes. Study with flashcards and multiple-choice questions to master the ABS QE topics. Get all the hints and explanations you need to succeed on your first attempt!

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Which type of study assigns individuals randomly to experimental or control groups?

Case report study
Randomized controlled trial
Cohort study
Systematic review

The correct answer is: Randomized controlled trial

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the type of study that assigns individuals randomly to either experimental or control groups. This randomization process is crucial as it helps eliminate selection bias, ensuring that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any group. This method allows for a more reliable comparison of the effects of the intervention being studied against the control conditions, leading to more valid and trustworthy results regarding the efficacy of treatments or interventions. In RCTs, the random assignment enhances the internal validity of the study by producing groups that are similar in all aspects except for the intervention, thereby isolating the effect of the treatment from confounding variables. This makes RCTs the gold standard in clinical research for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.