April 15, 2015 (Vol. 35, No. 8)
URL:
http://www.randomiseme.org
Rating:
Strong Points: Great tutorial, beautifully designed site
Weak Points: None
Summary:
Randomized trials play a critical role in research, such as for drug trials. RandomiseMe.org, which is currently in beta, is a great website that introduces the concept of randomized trials and experiments to the general population, allowing anyone who creates an account to set up his/her own trials or participate in publicly published trials created by other users. Along the way, users learn about how randomized trials work, including concepts such as power calculations. Once a user has set up a trial, the randomize part works by simply randomly assigning the user to one of the conditions each time the user sets out to run a trial. For example, let’s say you want to know whether your new pair of running shoes will give you more shin splints. Each time you’re ready to go out for a run, RandomiseMe will tell you which pair of shoes to wear. Repeat “n” times, and you’ll have yourself an answer!
