importance of scientically designed trials

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the importance of scientifically designed trials

There is an increasing incidence of products being promoted on the basis of results from trials that are not scientifically sound. For this reason it is relevant to define what is meant by a scientific trial and how such trials differ from a demonstration trial. BIOLOGICAL VARIATION All biological properties, including pasture production, pasture nutrient concentrations and soil nutrient levels are variable - they vary over time and space. This is the net effect of many factors including, depth of topsoil, changes in soil texture, dung and urine deposition (factors which affect spatial variability) and temperature and moisture (factors which affect variability over time). The size of the variability depends on the property being measured. Some soil test levels (eg soil K and S) vary by 20-30%. For some plant concentrations the variability over time can be up to 100%, and for pasture DM the variation is typically 10%, even on carefully chosen uniform sites. The lower the variation the more precise the experiment. That is to say, smaller differences between treatments (products) can be reliably detected against the background biological variation.
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Biological variation cannot be eliminated but it can be measured and hence taken into account, so that the treatment (or product) effects can be distinguished from the background variation (this is the science of trial design). Biological variation can also be minimised by the choice of site and the methodology used to make the measurements. FIELD TRIAL DESIGN Because of biological variation, the treatments in properly designed scientific trials are replicated - there is more than 1 plot of any given treatment (frequently 4-6) so that the average production of the treatment can be determined and compared with the average production of the control. For the same reason, treatments are randomised - i.e. randomly allocated to a given plot. In this manner it becomes a matter of chance (ie not human choice) that a particular treatment is applied to a particular plot. CHOICE OF SITE Biological variation can be reduced by the careful choice of site. This is done by carefully examining the site before the experiment is

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importance of scientically designed trials

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MAR Go and the pasture. of the soil type, 23 12 Soil captures tests, and sometimes pasture production measurements, are made 2002 2003 14 Mar 02 - 28 Sep 06 before the treatments are applied, to measure the uniformity of the site. http://www.ballance.co.nz/fsimportance.html commenced to check the uniformity FEB

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The choice of site is also important when designing a trial. For example, if the purpose of a trial is to determine the rate of release of P from a range of P fertilisers it would be necessary to choose a P deficient site. Otherwise all the treatments (products) would give similar yields (at least initially until the existing soil P reserves are depleted), reflecting the underlying biological variation rather than real effects due to treatments. Similar considerations arise when comparing liquid and solid fertilisers. If the liquid fertiliser being tested is claimed to be a source of nutrients then it should be compared on a nutrient deficient site. Conversely, if the liquid fertiliser is said to be a growth promotant, or soil biological activator, then the most rigorous test of its efficacy would be on a site where plant growth was not limited by nutrient deficiency. TRIAL PROTOCOLS Strict protocols are necessary when measuring pasture production and composition, and sampling for plant and soil nutrient levels, to avoid biasing the results, as would say if samples were consistently selected from fertile patches in the pasture. Protocols are decided before the trial commences and must be followed. This is part of the art of good field trial technique and is one reason why it is preferable to use experienced technicians for field trial research. When reporting trial results, it is standard practice to provide a measure of the background variability for that trial. This is normally done by reporting the Least Significant Difference (LSD), or the standard Error of the Mean (SEM), Depending on the design of the trial the treatment (product) differences need to be greater than the LSD before it could be concluded that the treatment (product) had an effect greater than that of the background variation. DEMONSTRATION TRIALS Traditionally demonstration trials are used when it has already been established, in scientifically designed trials, that a given product works. Consequently it is not necessary to replicate and randomise the treatments or to undertake uniformity measurements. Strict protocols are not generally followed. Such trials are designed to demonstrate a proven effect. They are not designed to prove an effect. It follows that the results from demonstration trials should not be confused with results from scientifically designed trials and that such results are not interpreted as providing proof of a treatment (product effect).
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