How to conduct a randomized trial

ABSTRACT Randomized controlled clinical trials represent the gold standard of research into health‐care interventions but conducting a randomized trial requires careful planning, structures and procedures. The conduct of a clinical trial is a collaborative effort between investigators, participants and a range of professionals involved both centrally and locally in the coordination and execution of the study. In this article, the key steps to conducting a randomized controlled trial are summarized. Clinical trials require extensive management and coordination in order to provide appropriate answers to clinical questions about health‐care practices and to comply with the standards of good clinical practice. This article describes the steps required to conduct a randomized controlled trial.