Blinded Study Design

A study in which one party, either the investigator or participant, is unaware of what medication or study arm the participant is assigned to (Single-Blind study). A clinical study design in which neither the participating individuals nor the study staff knows which participants are receiving the experimental drug and which are receiving a placebo or another therapy (Double-Blind study). Double-blind studies are thought to produce more objective results, since the impact of expectations of the doctor and the participant about the experimental drug are minimized. Also referred to as a “masked” study.