Evidence and Influence

Last registered on February 18, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evidence and Influence
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0017882
Initial registration date
February 12, 2026

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
February 18, 2026, 7:38 AM EST

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
Hannah Trachtman
Affiliation
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Marta Serra-Garcia
PI Affiliation
Rady School of Management, UC San Diego
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-02-13
End date
2026-12-31
Keywords
Behavior
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We investigate the attention and influence that scientific evidence receives in online settings. In an online experiment, participants in the role of "senders" view sets of articles based on research studies, and decide which articles to share and what content to provide alongside the article. We vary features of the articles and the communication process to shed light on the drivers of online attention to different types of evidence. In a separate experiment, participants in the role of "receivers" will choose which articles to click on to read more about.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Serra-Garcia, Marta and Hannah Trachtman. 2026. "Evidence and Influence." AEA RCT Registry. February 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.17882-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Participants in the role of sender are presented with a set of articles (press-releases), each of which summarizes the evidence provided in a research study.

Participants in the role of receiver are presented with similar set of articles, accompanied by captions written by senders.
Intervention Start Date
2026-02-13
Intervention End Date
2026-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
In the sender experiment, the primary outcome is which article was selected to be posted. In the receiver experiment, the primary outcome is which article was clicked to be read.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
In the sender experiment, secondary outcomes include features of the captions written by senders.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants in the role of sender are presented with a set of articles (press-releases), each of which summarizes the evidence provided in a research study. Their task is to help disseminate research findings for a broad population and their advice is sought on (a) what content to feature and (b) how to describe this content.

The sender experiment will consist of three main treatments. First, in the Baseline treatment, senders will view four articles, each on a different topic. The type of study will be randomized across topics. The articles will also vary in the certainty of the findings that they present, according to the abstract. To study the mechanisms behind senders’ decisions, we will conduct two additional treatments. In one treatment, we will vary how some study types are framed (or described) in the articles. In a second treatment, we will reduce senders’ ”cost” of communicating about evidence by providing them with the caption for any article they choose to share.

Participants in the role of receiver are presented with similar set of articles, accompanied by captions written by senders.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Qualtrics randomization (Prolific), randomization done in office (freelancers)
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
300 freelancers (or as many as possible)
1600 professionals on Prolific (or as many as possible)
3000 participants on Prolific
Sample size: planned number of observations
300 freelancers (or as many as possible) 1600 professionals on Prolific (or as many as possible) 3000 participants on Prolific
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Freelancers: 100 per treatment group
Prolific professionals: 533 per treatment group
Prolific participants: 1000 per treatment group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
The minimum detectable effect is a 5 percentage point difference in selection rates between the study types (~0.1 standard deviations).
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UC San Diego Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2025-10-15
IRB Approval Number
161827
Analysis Plan

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