Nick Emmel and Mike Kelly – Purpose, precision, and the problem of people in randomised control trials

Nick Emmel and Mike Kelly present a three part paper on the topic of people in randomised control trials

This paper is in three parts. Part One investigates the frequently repeated claim that the randomised control trial (RCT) is the gold standard in experimental investigation and, more recently, the investigation of complex interventions. Part Two addresses epistemological claims to precision derived from Newtonian science, and raises questions about the role human agency plays in the design and implementations of RCTs. Part Three offers up an alternative role for the RCT in the cumulation of evidence.