Making Public Law

Last registered on July 18, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Making Public Law
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0011625
Initial registration date
June 21, 2023

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
July 18, 2023, 4:33 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Lena Song
Affiliation
NYU
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Suresh Naidu
PI Affiliation
Columbia University
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PI Name
Elliott Ash
PI Affiliation
ETH Zurich
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-06-21
End date
2023-08-01
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to measure U.S. citizens’ attitudes and political behavior after Supreme Court decisions. Using survey experiments, we will provide causal evidence on whether arguments presented in judicial opinions change public opinion on various issues and the acceptance of the decisions and legitimacy of the court.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ash, Elliott , Suresh Naidu and Lena Song. 2023. "Making Public Law." AEA RCT Registry. July 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.11625-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Using survey experiments, we study how a one-time exposure to the Supreme Court’s public reasoning process for/against a decision affects attitudes and behavior, about the decision and the court as a whole. We expose participants to either facts of the case in the Control group, or to summarized arguments of the majority opinion for that policy ruling in the Majority treatment group.
Intervention Start Date
2023-06-21
Intervention End Date
2023-08-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The outcome variables are grouped into four families: 1) Policy-Attitude: attitudes towards the court decision 2) Policy-Behavior: behavioral intent and behavior around the related policy 3) Court-Attitude: attitudes towards the court 4) Court-Behavior: behavioral intent and behavior to influence the court.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Using survey experiments, we study how a one-time exposure to the Supreme Court’s public reasoning process for/against a decision affects attitudes and behavior, about the decision and the court as a whole. The survey starts with consent, demographic, baseline attitudes, and attention check questions. We then expose participants to either facts of the case in the Control group, or to summarized arguments of the majority opinion for that policy ruling in the Majority treatment group. Afterwards, we elicit post-exposure participants' attitudes towards court decisions and perceived legitimacy of the Supreme Court.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Participants are randomized into exposure to text within the survey.
Randomization Unit
The unit of randomization is at the individual level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5600 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
5600 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
700 participants per text
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Columbia University
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-20
IRB Approval Number
IRB-AAAU3574
Analysis Plan

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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