Peer selection and performance - A field experiment in higher education

Last registered on February 27, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Peer selection and performance - A field experiment in higher education
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003646
Initial registration date
December 05, 2018

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
December 06, 2018, 8:38 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
February 27, 2020, 2:29 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Rheinland-Pfalz

Primary Investigator

Name
Rainer Michael Rilke
Affiliation
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Burcin Yurtoglu
PI Affiliation
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management
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PI Name
Mira Fischer
PI Affiliation
WZB Berlin
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2018-10-25
End date
2019-04-04
Keywords
Education, Labor
Additional Keywords
peer selection, group performance, individual performance, peer effects, education
JEL code(s)
D01, C93
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We investigate how individuals choose their peers and how endogenous peer selection influences performance. In a field experiment with students of a business school, we vary whether study groups are put together randomly, or whether students can choose their group partner endogenously. With the help of pre-elicited educational performance as well as demographic data, we are able to trace how individuals choose their partner and how these choices influence their group and individual performance during the course. Besides average performance, we analyze how the selection procedure influences the distribution of performance. We measure performance on three consecutive events. The groups' performance is measured by their score on two different tasks during the semester and individual performance is measured by a student's outcome on the final exam. Students only learn about their performance after the final exam. Secondary outcomes of interest are ability beliefs, satisfaction, and social preferences.
This registration belongs to the second wave of the study (the first wave has RCT ID AEARCTR-0002757). The structure of both waves is exactly the same. However, we replaced the second group exercise sheet with a group presentation task with the intention of making cooperation more visible.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Fischer, Mira, Rainer Michael Rilke and Burcin Yurtoglu. 2020. "Peer selection and performance - A field experiment in higher education." AEA RCT Registry. February 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3646-1.1
Former Citation
Fischer, Mira, Rainer Michael Rilke and Burcin Yurtoglu. 2020. "Peer selection and performance - A field experiment in higher education." AEA RCT Registry. February 27. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3646/history/63466
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Students are randomly assigned to one of two exercise classes. In one class they are randomly matched with a peer. In the other class, matching is endogenous and students choose the peer themselves. In both classes, these groups of two solve the same two exercises together and receive a common grade for each. The first exercise is a written task, the second is a video presentation. Then every student individually writes the same exam. There is no intermediate feedback and students only learn about their performance a few weeks after the exam.
Intervention Start Date
2018-11-11
Intervention End Date
2019-04-02

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Performance in two exercise sheets (group performance) and the final exam (individual performance) in the subject of microeconomics. We analyze treatment effects both on average performance as well as on the distribution of performance.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
The marking is blind, i.e. it will be done by a person not informed about the fact that an experiment took place.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
ability beliefs, satisfaction, social preferences
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment's setting is a business school in Germany. All students enrolled in a bachelor's program have to participate in the same microeconomics class during their first semester. The class is taught in three groups: two groups for students in the regular track and one group for students in the international track. Only students in the regular track are part of the experiment. Students do not know that an experiment is taking place.
Students in the regular track are randomly assigned to one of two groups. In one of those groups students are randomly matched with a peer, in the other group matches are formed endogenously. Students have to solve two exercises with their peer during the semester and receive a common grade for each sheet, which each makes up 15% of the final grade. In the end of the semester, each student individually writes an exam which makes up 70% of the final grade. Immediately after the exam, students are asked to fill in a questionnaire that elicits demographic information, ability beliefs, satisfaction and social preferences.
We received permission to run the experiment from the business school's academic director as well as its program manager. None of the institutions we were affiliated with when we started the experiment has an institutional review board.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Students are randomly assigned to an exercise class by a coin flip. Within the random assignment class, students are assigned a peer with the help of a random draw by a spreadsheet program.
Randomization Unit
Students are individually randomized into one of the two exercise classes. Within the exercise class with random peer assignment, students are individually matched with a peer. The type of peer assignment was thus clustered within class.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
2 Classes
Sample size: planned number of observations
In total, we have 200 students (100 groups).
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
102 students (51 groups) in the class with random peer selection, 98 students (49 groups) in the class with endogenous peer selection
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
IRB Approval Date
IRB Approval Number
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials