> Control groups, preferably in double-blind studies, are an essential part of best practices.
I wouldn't go that far. I think that a paradigm built upon a broader evidence base -- e.g. with far more extensive postmarketing surveillance of drugs -- would be more ethical, of more benefit to society, and ultimately more effective.
Double-blinded studies can miss, can be confounded by placebo effects, can easily be confounded by crooked researchers, and are frequently just plain unethical from first principles. I don't think that they should be considered "essential."
I wouldn't go that far. I think that a paradigm built upon a broader evidence base -- e.g. with far more extensive postmarketing surveillance of drugs -- would be more ethical, of more benefit to society, and ultimately more effective.
Double-blinded studies can miss, can be confounded by placebo effects, can easily be confounded by crooked researchers, and are frequently just plain unethical from first principles. I don't think that they should be considered "essential."