Examining content production on online platforms

Last registered on November 19, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Examining content production on online platforms
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0014722
Initial registration date
November 19, 2024

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
November 19, 2024, 4:45 PM EST

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Wajeeha Ahmad
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-10-15
End date
2025-08-31
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity, Governance
Additional Keywords
Digital platforms, platform strategy, AI
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This project aims to understand the downstream effects of different types of content posted on online platforms. This involves running a field experiment in which different types of content are posted on an online platform and the effects of posting such content, e.g. user engagement and follow-on content production, are then examined.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ahmad, Wajeeha. 2024. "Examining content production on online platforms." AEA RCT Registry. November 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.14722-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention consists of posting comments of different categories on an online social media platform.
Intervention Start Date
2024-11-19
Intervention End Date
2025-04-20

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The primary outcomes are:
1) Short term content production, i.e. replies received on the comments posted as part of the treatment.
2) Longer term content production, i.e. content produced by treated users following the treatment.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1. Engagement received on treatment comments, such as their virality as measured by comment scores.
2. Key differences between treatment comment categories based on analysis of a) the language (e.g. sentiment and other content attributes) of the comments posted and b) the language of the replies they get.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
As users make posts on the online platform, new posts are randomized into different treatment groups, each of which receives a comment responding to their post.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is done via an automated script.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A.
Sample size: planned number of observations
A minimum of 3000 users. If the infrastructure to conduct the experiment remains stable (in terms of how long it remains feasible to keep posting treatment comments at scale), I will expand the sample to include up to approximately 12,000 users. While these are the number of observations planned, in cases where some of the treated users may close their accounts or there are issues with posting comments at scale, the actual minimum number in the sample may be lower.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Individual users will be randomized into treatment groups with equal probabilities.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Administrative Panels on Human Subjects Research, Stanford University
IRB Approval Date
2024-02-16
IRB Approval Number
68938
Analysis Plan