# Randomize Participants for Multi-Arm Studies **URL:** \ **Category:** How-To\ **Tags:** how-to:study\ **Created:** [June 10, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/randomize-participants-for-multi-arm-studies/1196 "2025-06-10T17:31:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zahra](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/aeb1de/32.png) [@zahra](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/u/zahra)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/randomize-participants-for-multi-arm-studies/1196/1 "2025-06-10T17:31:00Z")
Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are crucial in clinical research. This guide shows two ways to randomly assign participants to different study arms or groups within Avicenna, even though it’s not a built-in feature yet. ## The Situation You are running an RCT and need to randomize participants into different arms (e.g., control vs. intervention). Avicenna currently lacks a dedicated randomization feature. You need a workaround to achieve this randomization directly within the platform or by integrating an external process. > [!info] Alternative Use Case > The methods described here can also generate a random value as a survey response for other purposes. ## What to Do? Here are two approaches to randomize participants: ### Approach 1: Using a Single Study This approach uses features within one Avicenna study to assign groups. It supports **Simple** randomization but not complex techniques like **Block** or **Stratified**. Learn more about randomization types [here](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2267325/). You can implement this using either survey questions or participant variables. #### Option 1.1: Using Survey Questions 1. **Create a baseline survey:** This survey will capture the participant’s assigned group. See [How to Create a Baseline Survey](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/how-to-create-a-baseline-survey-in-avicenna/1202). 2. **Add a single-answer question:** Use a [single-answer question](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-single-answer-24) to represent the group assignment. Avoid [number questions](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-number-32) as some numbers might be chosen more often than others intuitively. 3. **Configure the question for arms:** 4. **Label the question:** Use a clear label, like `Arm`. 5. **Make it mandatory:** Mark the question as `Mandatory`. 6. **(Optional) Add more questions:** Include other necessary baseline questions in the survey. 7. **Use the group in criteria:** Apply the `Arm` question’s response in [criteria](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/criteria/1236/1) for activities, triggering logics, or notification templates to customize the experience per arm. Using this question as a [placeholder](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/questions/1291#p-2918-placeholders-92) is not recommended as it shows identical text. 8. **Participant experience:** When participants join, they complete the baseline survey. They will see one randomly selected option to determine their group. #### Option 1.2: Using Participant Variables 1. **Define a participant variable:** Treat the participant’s arm/group as a variable. [Define and set this variable](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/define-participant-variables/1197) when a participant joins. 2. **Assign the variable value:** You can either: - **Randomize externally:** Perform randomization outside Avicenna (e.g., using a spreadsheet) and set the variable for each participant accordingly. - **Randomize internally:** Use the survey method described in [Option 1.1](#p-2791-option-11-using-survey-questions-4) to determine the group and set the variable based on the response. This has the same limitations regarding randomization techniques. > [!info] Limitation of This Approach > The first approach (using one study) works best if your study arms differ only in their [activities](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/activities/1237/1) and [notification templates](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/notifications/1277#p-2904-notification-templates-1), not in aspects like [data sources](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/data-sources/1266/1). ### Approach 2: Using Multiple Studies This approach involves creating a separate study for each arm. 1. **Create studies per arm:** Set up distinct studies for each arm (e.g., “Control Study”, “Intervention Study”). See [Create a New Study](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/create-a-new-study/1271). 2. **Use identical consent forms:** Ensure all studies use the same [Consent Materials](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/create-a-new-study/1271#p-2898-consent-materials-6). This prevents participants from noticing differences if they have study IDs or [registration URLs](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/enrollment/1274#p-2901-using-registration-url-5). 3. **Randomize externally:** Assign participants to arms outside Avicenna (e.g., using spreadsheet randomization). 4. **Enroll participants:** Direct participants to [join the study](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/enrollment/1274#p-2901-study-enrollment-4) corresponding to their assigned arm, or [invite them via email](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/enrollment/1274#p-2901-invite-participants-13). > [!info] Maintainability > Using multiple studies means duplicating the study setup. Common protocols require repetitive implementation. Mid-study changes must be applied across all study copies, though some tools might help [streamline this](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/frequently-asked-questions/5#p-6-how-can-i-rapidly-deploy-similar-studies-with-minor-differences-16). ## Pro Tips **Blinding Considerations:** - **Single-blinded studies:** Where participants are unaware of their group, the approaches described work well. - **Double-blinded studies:** Where researchers also shouldn’t know group assignments, use these approaches but restrict access to data revealing group allocation (like baseline survey responses). Manage this using [Roles and Permissions](https://forum.avicennaresearch.com/t/roles-and-permissions/1282/1). Choose the approach that best fits your study’s complexity and operational workflow.