Random assignment

Definition

Random assignment in plain English

When testing whether something (say, a new study app) actually works, you split people into a group that gets it and a group that doesn't — and random assignment means you decide who goes where purely by chance, like flipping a coin. The point is fairness: if people sorted themselves, the motivated ones might all pick the app and you'd never know if the app helped or if they were just driven to begin with. Randomizing scatters those hidden differences (age, motivation, sleep) roughly evenly across both groups, so if one group ends up doing better, you can trust the treatment caused it — not some sneaky background factor.

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