Hey, Spencer Phillips (2014) Theory Testing and Implication in Clinical Trials. In: UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

John Worrall (2010) and Nancy Cartwright (2011) argue that randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are "testing the wrong theory." RCTs are designed to test inferences about the causal relationships in the study population, but this does not guarantee a justified inference about the causal relationships in the more diverse population in clinical practice. In this essay, I argue that the epistemology of theory testing in trials is more complicated than either Worrall's or Cartwright's accounts suggest. I illustrate this more complex theoretical structure with case-studies in medical theory testing from (1) Alzheimer's research and (2) anti-cancer drugs in personalized medicine.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Hey, Spencer Phillips spencer.hey@mcgill.ca
Keywords:	theory testing, randomized controlled trials, clinical research, Alzheimer's disease, cancer biomarkers
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine > Biomedical Ethics General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Medicine General Issues > Theory/Observation
Depositing User:	Dr Spencer Phillips Hey
Date Deposited:	27 Sep 2014 15:24
Last Modified:	27 Sep 2014 15:24
Item ID:	11045
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine > Biomedical Ethics General Issues > Experimentation Specific Sciences > Medicine General Issues > Theory/Observation
Date:	2014
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11045

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