An experimental study, using a control group. The term is commonly used in medicine and social sciences (e.g., education).
"A random control trial (RCT) is an experiment where the units of analysis are randomly assigned to different conditions, and statistical methods are used to determine whether any overall difference in the measured outcomes in those conditions is (probably) due to the intervention. Statistics can only indicate how likely a measured result would occur by chance (as randomisation of units of analysis to different treatments can only make uneven group composition unlikely, not impossible)…A RCT is referred to as a 'true experiment' because there is randomisation of the 'units of analysis' (people, classes, schools, etc.) to conditions." (Taber, 2019, 73)
