Effects of Pre-Populating Study Design Details to Encourage Registration of Studies - An RCT

Last registered on January 11, 2018
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effects of Pre-Populating Study Design Details to Encourage Registration of Studies - An RCT
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0002588
Initial registration date
January 11, 2018

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
January 11, 2018, 7:42 PM 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
Midwest

Primary Investigator

Name
Dustin Anderson
Affiliation
Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jessaca Spybrook
PI Affiliation
Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2018-01-17
End date
2018-05-14
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
Registration, Pre-registration, Randomized Control Trial, Impact Studies
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study would experimentally test a strategy for boosting registration rates and for promoting accuracy and completeness of registrations in a new registry for causal inference studies in education and the broader social sciences. The ultimate goal is to establish efficient registration processes for study leads (also referred to as study directors) and to boost the registration enterprise as a whole. With funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), SREE is in the final stages of developing a registry of causal inference studies in education and the broader social sciences, hereafter referred to as the Registry of Efficacy and Effectiveness Studies (REES). The proposed project entails conducting a randomized control trial to learn about benefits to pre-populating a registration with data for completed studies, as well as to gain valuable feedback from a sizable number of early study registrants that will help us improve the design and launch of REES. This information will be especially valuable for guiding refinements to improve the potential for REES to serve as a reliable source for identifying all causal inference studies in education. The project also will contribute to the overall evidence base on how to increase integrity, rigor, and access to causal inference research in education.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Anderson, Dustin and Jessaca Spybrook. 2018. "Effects of Pre-Populating Study Design Details to Encourage Registration of Studies - An RCT." AEA RCT Registry. January 11. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.2588-1.0
Former Citation
Anderson, Dustin and Jessaca Spybrook. 2018. "Effects of Pre-Populating Study Design Details to Encourage Registration of Studies - An RCT." AEA RCT Registry. January 11. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/2588/history/24868
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Pre-populating a registry entry entails integrating basic study information and study design details from a given source into the registry. It is hypothesized that pre-populating study design details with increase the likelihood of a researcher updating the registry entry and increase the quality of the registration entry. For two randomly assigned groups, we have the complete record of their WWC Registry record and will have used this to pre-populated a REES registration record. One group (randomly selected) will be sent a link to a registry entry with study design prepopulated and asked to update it; the other group will be sent a link to a registry entry with only basic study design information integrated and asked to complete it.
Intervention Start Date
2018-01-17
Intervention End Date
2018-05-14

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Percent of studies with complete registration entries.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Accuracy of pre-population records and completeness of final registration records. Characteristics of studies that predict registration rates within and between treatment conditions. Impacts of pre-population on data-quality (error rates, types of errors, incidence and nature of missing fields).
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study leads for all studies previously registered with the WWC will receive an e-mail inviting them to register their study with REES. One group (randomly selected) will be sent a link to a registry entry with study design prepopulated and asked to update it; the other group will be sent a link to a registry entry with only basic study design information integrated and asked to complete it. For both groups, we have the complete record of their WWC Registry record and will have used this to pre-populated a REES registration record. In addition, for purposes of the study, we will ask the individual completing the REES registration to respond to a brief survey to collect five types of information: (1) basic demographics and degree attainment, (2) current employer, and (3) number of years of experience doing educational research; (4) estimated time to complete the REES registration and how that compared with their expectations before they began the task; and (5) their suggestions for improving the request registration process.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Study leads of those impact studies in WWC registry
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
206 study leads
Sample size: planned number of observations
255 registration entries
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
103
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Western Michigan HSIRB
IRB Approval Date
2017-12-12
IRB Approval Number
17-12-08
Analysis Plan

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