Gender Peer Effects in University

Last registered on August 06, 2019

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Gender Peer Effects in University

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0004392

Initial registration date

August 06, 2019

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

August 06, 2019, 11:55 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Switzerland

Region

Europe

Primary Investigator

Name

Xiaoyue Shan

Affiliation

University of Pennsylvania

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2019-09-01

End date

2021-01-01

Keywords

Education, Gender, Labor

Additional Keywords

Peer effects

JEL code(s)

I21, J16, D91

Secondary IDs

Abstract

This study examines the impact of peers, especially their genders and gender attitudes, on college students' educational expectation, performance, and persistence. Students in an economics course, who voluntarily sign up for a study group, are randomly assigned into groups of four. I will investigate if peers' gender and gender-related characteristics create academic spillover effects (i.e., impact on others' grades and educational choices). By comparing measurements in the baseline and endline, I can also investigate the change of expectations and beliefs, which is potentially an important mechanism of academic spillover effects.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Shan, Xiaoyue. 2019. "Gender Peer Effects in University." AEA RCT Registry. August 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4392-1.0

Former Citation

Shan, Xiaoyue. 2019. "Gender Peer Effects in University." AEA RCT Registry. August 06. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4392/history/51340

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention Start Date

2019-09-19

Intervention End Date

2019-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

(1) Expectations and beliefs about own ability and education outcomes;
(2) Final scores and grades in the course and other courses;
(3) Dropout, major choice, and degree completion.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Final education expectations and beliefs will be measured in the endline survey; other outcome variables will be acquired from university administrative data.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

(1) Evaluation of peers;
(2) Social network formation.

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

The outcomes will be constructed from relevant questions in the endline survey (or longer-term follow-up surveys).

Experimental Design

The experiment will randomly assign students (who voluntarily sign up for study groups) into groups of four.

Experimental Design Details

In the beginning of the fall semester 2019, students in an introductory economics course are encouraged to form study groups and provided the chance of being assigned to a random group. If students sign up for the random study group, they are assigned into groups of four students from the same study program. The random assignment creates heterogeneous gender composition across groups. Some groups have more female students, while some groups have more male students. Meanwhile, all students registered for the course are invited to fill out a survey, which measures their demographic background, socioeconomic preferences, personality traits, educational beliefs and expectations. During the semester, students from the same group can study with each other, work on problem sets together, and attend lectures or tutorials together. Four tasks will also be assigned and graded, which students can submit independently or as a group. In the end of the semester, all students in the course are again invited to fill out a survey, which measures their educational beliefs and expectations, personalities, their social network, as well as their evaluation of study mates (if any).

Randomization Method

The study group randomization will conducted by the principal investigator using the computer program STATA.

Randomization Unit

The randomization takes place at the individual level, but stratified at the broad level of study programs (e.g., economics and computer science).

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

The number of study groups (each group has four students) depends on the sign-up rate. Given 50% sign-up rate, the total number of groups is approximately 125; given 30% sign-up rate, the total number of groups is around 75.

Sample size: planned number of observations

The number of students depends on the sign-up rate. Given 50% sign-up rate, the total number of students is around 500; given 30% sign-up rate, the total number of students is around 300.

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

The randomization doesn't create obvious treatment group and control group. The peer effect is identified by comparing the composition of peers across groups.

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Using data from a pilot study in the Fall Semester 2018 and Monte Carlo simulations, I find that: If the total number of students who sign up for study groups is 300, I can detect a gender peer effect (the impact of one extra female peer on standardized scores) equal to 16% standard deviation, with a significance level of 5% and 80% power. If the total number of students is 400 (600), I can detect a gender peer effect equal to 14% (12%) standard deviation, with a significance level of 5% and 80% power.

Supporting Documents and Materials

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