Designing of constant block sum PBIB designs for animal experiments

Abstract

Partially Balanced Incomplete Block (PBIB) designs are widely used in agricultural, animal, and biomedical research. In biomedical studies, particularly those involving animals, the carryover effects from previous experiments necessitate a repeated measures approach. Given the limitations of available animals, conducting such experiments accurately poses challenges. In this context, constant block-sum designs are particularly relevant, especially when treatments are quantitative and all units need to be exposed to the same cumulative dose by the experiment's conclusion. This article presents the layout for such experiments and introduces a method (with two series) for constructing constant block-sum PBIB designs, along with illustrative examples.