Randomized Controlled Trials
Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard in research, producing causal evidence about the efficacy and impact of policies and programs.
A randomized controlled trial, or RCT, is considered the gold standard in research. A RCT is a rigorous study that randomly assigns participants to either a “treatment group” who are offered the intervention, or a “control group” who have access to all other services except for the intervention. By measuring what would have happened to the treatment group without the intervention, an RCT lets researchers isolate the effect of the intervention itself.
The Crime Lab uses RCTs as our preferred method of project evaluation wherever possible. While RCTs can be time and resource intensive, they generate high-quality results to ensure that our partners and policymakers can make informed decisions about how to best support communities affected by gun violence.
Latest Updates
Jens Ludwig — Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence
Join Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig for a book talk and signing at Politics and Prose Bookstore at Union Market in Washington, DC for his upcoming book, “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence.”
Jens Ludwig and Chief Bill Scott: The Unexpected Origins of Gun Violence
Join Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig for a book talk and signing at The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, CA for his upcoming book, “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence.”
Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence
Crime Lab Pritzker Director Jens Ludwig authored a book that argues the lack of progress in reducing gun violence ultimately stems from our having misunderstood the nature of the problem, and that behavioral science gives us a new way to understand – and solve – gun violence in America.
