Rigor: lost in the quest for evidence-based practice

Abstract

The purpose of this column is to bring to light a lack of rigor in the design of randomized controlled trials. In this effort, basic tenets of quantitative design are considered including delineation of populations along with probability and non-probability sampling techniques in addition to defining random selection and random assignment. The idea that randomized controlled trials, considered the pièce de résistance of the evidence-based practice movement, lack rigor because of their use of randomly assigned groups without random selection of subjects is presented.