Negative Control Group
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A Negative Control Group is a control group where no experiment effect is expected (negative outcome).
- Example(s):
- a Placebo Control (with a placebo treatment).
- See: Positive Control Group, Treatment Group.
References
2013
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_control#Negative
- Negative controls are groups where no phenomenon is expected. They ensure that there is no effect when there should be no effect. To continue with the example of drug testing, a negative control is a group that has not been administered the drug. We would say that the control group should show a negative or null effect.
If the treatment group and the negative control both produce a negative result, it can be inferred that the treatment had no effect. If the treatment group and the negative control both produce a positive result, it can be inferred that a confounding variable acted on the experiment, and the positive results are likely not due to the treatment.
- Negative controls are groups where no phenomenon is expected. They ensure that there is no effect when there should be no effect. To continue with the example of drug testing, a negative control is a group that has not been administered the drug. We would say that the control group should show a negative or null effect.
2011
- http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryterminology/a/What-Is-A-Control-Group.htm
- Negative control groups are groups where the conditions of the experiment are set to cause a negative outcome.