Impacts of sharing research findings with study participants: Evidence from a field experiment

Last registered on March 08, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Impacts of sharing research findings with study participants: Evidence from a field experiment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012658
Initial registration date
December 14, 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
December 20, 2023, 2:01 PM EST

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

Last updated
March 08, 2024, 6:38 AM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Tien Ha My Duong
Affiliation
University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Matthias Rieger
PI Affiliation
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Khanh Nam Pham
PI Affiliation
University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City
PI Name
Thi Tam Hien Nguyen
PI Affiliation
International Institute of Social Studies/ University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-12-17
End date
2024-07-31
Keywords
Behavior, Health
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
While research dissemination traditionally focuses on other academics, policymakers, and the public, social scientists increasingly recognize the obligation of sharing results with research participants. When research findings are shared, impacts are typically assessed qualitatively rather than quantitatively. In the context of a study on health- and diet-related beliefs and knowledge among parents and children in urban Vietnam, we aim to explore the relationship between the delivery of research findings to study participants and their health perceptions, diet perceptions, and research acceptance.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Duong, Tien Ha My et al. 2024. "Impacts of sharing research findings with study participants: Evidence from a field experiment." AEA RCT Registry. March 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12658-1.1
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups:
1. Control group involves those who receive general public information on weight and nutrition;
2. Treatment group 1 involves those who receive research findings from the broadly defined scientific literature and from the baseline survey data to which they contributed; and
3. Treatment group 2 involves those who receive research findings from the broadly defined scientific literature and from the baseline survey data to which they contributed, as well as child-specific comparisons with baseline survey summary findings.
Intervention Start Date
2024-03-15
Intervention End Date
2024-04-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Please see details in the attached file.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Please see details in the attached file.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Please see details in the attached file.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Please see details in the attached file.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups and will complete two surveys at home (the baseline survey and the follow-up survey):
- In the baseline survey, all participants will answer the same questions.
- After about 2-3 weeks after the intervention, they will conduct a follow-up survey.

We will also qualitatively interview a small subset of parents from all three groups about 2 months after the follow-up survey to explore their experience with the study and better understand potential effects.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Subjects will be randomly assigned to three groups. Randomization is conducted using STATA.
We will check randomization by testing for balance on outcomes at baseline as well as basic socio-demographics.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6 schools with treated and control groups in each.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We will survey a total of 1500 primary schoolchildren in control and treatment units from 6 schools in HCMC at baseline and then again after about 2-3 weeks after the intervention.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
There are three experimental groups, each group includes 500 parents/children from 6 schools.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
We aim to examine the effects of sharing findings with research participants with a power of 80%. We build on Nam et al. (2022) who investigated the effect of an information-based treatment package on childhood overweight/obesity. We perform a power calculation based on effects on parents’ dietary perceptions of their children in by Nam et al. (2022) (parents’ perception of their child’s diet being excellent or very good). Setting parents’ perception in the control group to 0.34, the effect size to -0.083, power to 0.8, and the significance level to 0.05, we find that each group should include at least 476 subjects. In Stata, this is calculated as power twoproportions 0.34 0.257. We round up to 500 observations.
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The ISS Research Ethics Committee
IRB Approval Date
2023-06-06
IRB Approval Number
ETH2223-0685
Analysis Plan