I am reading some materials about research methodologies. I noticed some scholars say "the matched placebo" when talking about randomized controlled studies, while others use "the matching placebo." "matching placebo" hits about 513,000 results on Google, and "matched placebo" gets about 301,000 results. Hope some native speakers could help me know which one is correct in the context of a randomized controlled study design. Thanks very much!
I'm a native speaker, Datby - but I have no skills in research. I did a little reading and I found that both appear to be used interchangeably. I found articles on the "matching" process, and they refer to placebos that have passed the matching tests as 'matched.' An example here: http://web.mit.edu/~jhainm/www/Paper/DiamondHainmueller2006.pdf My (layman's) take: Either is correct. A "matching" placebo is one that matches. It is "matched" by the tests of the matching process. So a "matching" one is one that has been successfully "matched." Same thing. That's why we have so many results for each term. I took a good look and was unable to find any written evidence that differentiated the terms. Warning: As I said, I have a lifetime (nearly 81 years) of experience with English usage - and a grammar framework that has worked pretty well in understanding the grammar of quite a few languages. I have zero experience with research.
Forgot to quote your post. Just did this so you'd see I replied. Dang that 10-min. timer! And I commend you for asking. I'm well aware that English is a bucket of pitfalls cobbled together into a (rather eloquent) language. However, I don't think this is one of the pitfalls -- but it COULD have been! You were wise.
Thanks a lot, Johann!! Though you replied humbly, I think your comment makes perfect sense! Yes, it helps me understand the subtle differences between the two terms. No wonder "matching placebo" has a wider use than the other one from the scientific perspective.
