randomizeR (version 1.4.2)

imbal: Representing the allocation imbalance

Description

Represents the imbalance of the treatment assignments of patients in a clinical trial.

Usage

imbal(type)

Arguments

type

character string, should be one of "imb", "absImb", "loss", or "maxImb", see Details.

Value

S4 object of class imbal, a formal represenation of the issue of imbalance in a clinical trial.

Details

Balance of the treatment assignment of patients can be an issue in the design of a clinical trial. The imbal function is a constructor function for an S4 object of class imbal representing the issue of imbalance of a clinical trial. The parameter type can take the following values: The type

"imb"

the final imbalance, i.e. difference in group sizes at the end of a trial

"absImb"

the absolute value of the final imbalance

"loss"

the loss in power estimation, i.e. imb^2/N

"maxImb"

the maximal attained imbalance during the trial

References

A.C. Atkinson (2014) Selecting a biased coin design. Statistical Science, 29, Vol. 1, 144-163.

See Also

Other issues: chronBias, combineBias, corGuess, issue, selBias, setPower