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Using Random Allocation to Evaluate Social Interventions: Three Recent U.K. Examples

Social Science Research Unit at the University of London Institute of Education

Vicki Strange

Social Science Research Unit, University of London Institute of Education

Tami Toroyan

Public Health Intervention Research Unit at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Meg Wiggins

Social Science Research Unit, University of London Institute of Education

Ian Roberts

University of Auckland, New Zealand, and at McGill University, Canada

Judith Stephenson

Department of Sexually Transmitted Diseases at the Royal Free and University College Medical School

Although widely accepted in medicine and health services research, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are often viewed with hostility by social scientists, who cite a variety of reasons as to why this approach to evaluation cannot be used to research social interventions. This article discusses the three central themes in these debates, which are those of science, ethics, and feasibility. The article uses three recent U.K. trials of social interventions (day care for preschool children, social support for disadvantaged families, and peer-led sex education for young people) to consider issues relating to the use of random allocation for social intervention evaluation and to suggest some practical strategies for the successful implementation of "social" RCTs. The article argues that the criteria of science, ethics, and feasibility can and should apply to social intervention trials in just the same way as they do to clinical trials.

Key Words: RCTs • randomized controlled trials • social interventions • random allocation • research methods

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