How Mode and Message Shape Principal Responses: An Experimental Survey Study

Last registered on May 21, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
How Mode and Message Shape Principal Responses: An Experimental Survey Study
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015986
Initial registration date
May 11, 2025

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
May 21, 2025, 2:00 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
Fulya Ersoy
Affiliation
University of Chicago
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Sarah Komisarow
PI Affiliation
Duke University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-05-12
End date
2026-06-01
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Survey design, Belief elicitation, School discipline, School Principals, K–12 education, Survey participation
JEL code(s)
C83, I28, D83
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
The purpose of our research is to experimentally investigate how different modes of invitation and delivery affect survey take-up and completion among K-12 school principals. We will also measure respondents’ beliefs about disciplinary practices and test respondents’ attention to survey items, comprehension of information provided, and judgement of the credibility and relevance of the information provided.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Ersoy, Fulya and Sarah Komisarow. 2025. "How Mode and Message Shape Principal Responses: An Experimental Survey Study." AEA RCT Registry. May 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15986-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention is research-based evidence on racial disparities in school discipline.
Intervention Start Date
2025-05-12
Intervention End Date
2025-06-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
-survey take-up
-comprehension of the informational material
-beliefs about the relevance, clarity, usefulness, and credibility of the informational material
-beliefs about disciplinary practices.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
-time spent on the informational material
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our experiment will randomly vary the following among our sample of K-12 school principals:
(1) how K-12 principals are invited to participate in the survey (email vs postcard)
(2) how intervention is presented to participants within the survey (flyer vs video) and whether it contains academic references or not.
(3) timing of the intervention
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
-For email vs postcards randomization, stratified complete assignment via STATA random number generation is used. Within each state, half of the principals was randomly assigned to receive postcards and the other half was randomly assigned to receive emails.
-For randomization to one of the delivery treatments (Flyer-w/o references, Flyer w references, Video w/o references, Video w References), stratified complete random assignment via Qualtrics is utilized. The 12 strata are Kentucky-Elementary-post card, Kentucky-Middle-post card, Kentucky-High-post card, Tennessee-Elementary-post card, Tennessee-Middle-post card, Tennessee-High-post card, Kentucky-Elementary-email, Kentucky-Middle-email, Kentucky-High-email, Tennessee-Elementary-email, Tennessee-Middle-email, Tennessee-High-email.
-For randomization of when belief questions are shown (before/after informational material), complete random assignment is used.
Randomization Unit
school principal level randomization.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We invite 3800 principals (1700 in Tennessee and 1100 in Kentucky) to participate in our survey. We expect a participation rate between 10%-25%.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We invite 3800 principals (1700 in Tennessee and 1100 in Kentucky) to participate in our survey. We expect a participation rate between 10%-25%.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
post-card:1400, email:1400
Assuming 10% participation rate, Flyer-w/o references: 95, Flyer w references:95, Video w/o references:95, Video w References:95.
Assuming 10% participation rate, intervention before belief elicitation: 190, intervention after belief elicitation: 190.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Duke University Campus Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-03-13
IRB Approval Number
2025-0309
Analysis Plan