What does randomization in DOE help to achieve?

Randomization in Design of Experiments (DOE) is primarily aimed at eliminating bias through systematic assignment. When treatments or experimental conditions are assigned randomly to subjects or experimental units, it helps to ensure that each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any treatment group. This minimizes the influence of confounding variables and ensures that the treatment effects can be attributed more directly to the experimental manipulation rather than extraneous factors.

This process guards against biases that might arise from the order of treatment application, differences in the subjects, or other systematic differences in how treatments are assigned. By eliminating bias, randomization increases the validity of the experimental results, allowing for a more accurate interpretation of the relationship between the treatment and the outcomes measured.

The other options touch on important aspects of experimental design but do not primarily describe the role of randomization. While randomization can indirectly contribute to precision and control by balancing confounding factors and reducing variability, its main function is to eliminate bias. Similarly, while achieving a random sample from the population is important for generalizability, this concept is related to sampling methods rather than the randomization process within an experiment.