A survey experiment on belief and information regarding COVID-19 in China

Last registered on August 15, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
A survey experiment on belief and information regarding COVID-19 in China
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010659
Initial registration date
December 18, 2022

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
January 03, 2023, 4:40 PM EST

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

Last updated
August 15, 2025, 4:19 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
China
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Siyu Wang
Affiliation
Wichita State University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Shuguang Jiang
PI Affiliation
Shandong University
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PI Name
Qian We
PI Affiliation
Shandong University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-05-01
End date
2023-04-30
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Health
Additional Keywords
information, field experiment, policy, belief
JEL code(s)
I18
Secondary IDs
C93
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We conduct a field experiment to understand people's belief and opinions on COVID-19 risk and policies. With intervention, we investigate how people perceive and interpret COVID-19 related information and how they update their beliefs.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jiang, Shuguang, Siyu Wang and Qian We. 2025. "A survey experiment on belief and information regarding COVID-19 in China." AEA RCT Registry. August 15. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10659-2.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We present the respondents with two news stories in random order. One of the stories used the historical data of death rate in Shanghai to argue that COVID didn't lead to additional death in March and April. The other news stated that 86.32% of death occurred with people who are older than 70 years old. Half of the respondents read the news before reporting their opinions on COVID policies, while the rest read the news stories at the end of the entire session.

Besides information intervention, the experiment also uses the natural intervention as China moved from "Zero-COVID policy" to "Co-existing with COVID policy" in December of 2022.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2022-05-01
Intervention End Date
2023-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
How information and policy change people's belief and opinions on COVID-19.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
How demographic background and reasoning abilities are associated with people's belief and opinions on COVID-19.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In May 2022, we conducted an anonymous online experiment through the largest Chinese message platform Wechat. In the experiment, we asked questions to understand the individual belief over pandemic situation and preferences over COVID policies. In addition, we included questions regarding the reasoning ability and demographic variables. In the experiment, respondents read two news stories which included data on mortality rate and other information. Half of the respondents read the news as the final section while the other half revealed their opinions on COVID after reading the news. Besides information intervention, the experiment also uses the natural intervention as China moved from "Zero-COVID policy" to "Co-existing with COVID policy" in December of 2022. Same survey with a few additional questions at the end regarding their opinion of more recent COVID news will be conducted in December and the months afterwards.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
We adopt a device question in which we check whether the birth date of respondent is an odd or even number. With the odd number, respondents read the news before reporting their opinions on COVID policies, while the rest read the news stories at the end of the entire session. Other randomization is done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Randomization is conducted at individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
The experiment is randomized at individual level. Provinces of the respondents are used as the control variable.
Sample size: planned number of observations
2500-4500 subjects before the policy change, 2500-4500 subjects after the policy change. Additional pool with highly educated individuals is collected to understand how the opinion is associated with education level.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
1250-2250 subjects in each information intervention treatment.
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

Description
Post-Trial Document
Citation
Jiang, Shuguang, Siyu Wang and Qian We. 2025. "A survey experiment on belief and information regarding COVID-19 in China." AEA RCT Registry. August 15. 2025. "Registration Entry Title: Post-Trial Document." AEA RCT Registry. August 15 https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10659-2.0
File
Post-Trial Document.pdf

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SHA1: 944c05d5f7bc506a097ff960d922f7b12c72560f

Uploaded At: August 15, 2025