control group

[kuhn-trohl groop]

noun

1. (in an experiment or clinical trial) a group of subjects closely resembling the treatment group in many demographic variables but not receiving the active medication or factor under study and thereby serving as a comparison group when treatment results are evaluated.

control group

noun

1. any group used as a control in a statistical experiment, esp a group of patients who receive either a placebo or a standard drug during an investigation of the effects of another drug on other patients

Word History and Origins

Origin of control group¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

The Year 5 pupils' experience will be compared with a control group, who will be given the same activities in a room without any changes.

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Meanwhile, another Year 5 class will be used as a control group, with the same workbook and activities but without the physical changes, to allow researchers to isolate the impact of the physical environment on pupil outcomes.

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The value of reducing PCSK9 was validated by a 12,000-person study reported by Amgen, in which its Repatha injectable drug reduced heart attacks, strokes and cardiac deaths by 25% over five years, compared with a control group.

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A study published in 2002 called the Women’s Health Initiative found an additional 1 in 1,000 women receiving the drugs was identified to have a nonfatal breast cancer diagnosis compared with a control group, wrote Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the FDA.

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The belief that HRT increases breast cancer mortality can be traced to 2002, when a study called the Women’s Health Initiative found an additional 1 in 1,000 women receiving HRT was later identified to have a nonfatal breast cancer diagnosis compared with a control group.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal