Final answer:
In a drug trial, a control group receives a placebo for accurate comparison to the treatment group. Double-blind studies and ethical considerations ensure reliable results and adherence to ethical standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
Not everyone in a drug trial should receive the drug being tested. The fundamental experimental design for clinical trials involves having a control group that receives a placebo to serve as a comparison to the treatment group receiving the actual drug. This control group helps identify the placebo effect and ensures that any effects on the participants' health are due to the drug and not due to their expectations or other variables.
In a double-blind study, neither participants nor researchers know who belongs to the control or treatment groups, preventing experimenter bias and participant expectations from influencing the results. Additionally, ethical considerations such as informed consent and the rights of participants are vital to ensure the study conforms to ethical research standards. The properly designed experiment will yield reliable and accurate data that can lead to conclusive results about a drug's efficacy and safety.