Editing Randomized controlled trial (section)

=== By hypothesis (superiority vs. noninferiority vs. equivalence) ===
{{main|Equivalence test}}

Another classification of RCTs categorizes them as "superiority trials", "noninferiority trials", and "equivalence trials", which differ in methodology and reporting.<ref name="Piaggio-2006">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Piaggio G, Elbourne DR, Altman DG, Pocock SJ, Evans SJ |date=March 2006 |title=Reporting of noninferiority and equivalence randomized trials: an extension of the CONSORT statement |url=https://researchonline.lshtm.ac.uk/id/eprint/12069/1/Reporting%20of%20Noninferiority%20and%20Equivalence%20Randomized%20Trials.pdf |journal=JAMA |volume=295 |issue=10 |pages=1152–1160 |doi=10.1001/jama.295.10.1152 |pmid=16522836}}</ref> Most RCTs are superiority trials, in which one intervention is hypothesized to be superior to another in a [[Statistical significance|statistically significant]] way.<ref name="Piaggio-2006" /> Some RCTs are noninferiority trials "to determine whether a new treatment is no worse than a reference treatment."<ref name="Piaggio-2006" /> Other RCTs are equivalence trials in which the hypothesis is that two interventions are indistinguishable from each other.<ref name="Piaggio-2006" />