Effects of Peer Group Composition in a Post-Secondary Environment

Last registered on December 21, 2021
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Effects of Peer Group Composition in a Post-Secondary Environment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004440
Initial registration date
July 22, 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
July 24, 2019, 11:45 AM EDT

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

Last updated
December 21, 2021, 2:18 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Fulya Ersoy
Affiliation
Loyola Marymount University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Graham Beattie
PI Affiliation
Loyola Marymount University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-08-26
End date
2022-06-01
Keywords
Education
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
I2
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Working with peers can be beneficial or harmful for many reasons. This study explores how working in pairs and pair composition affects students’ academic achievement and attitudes towards group work.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Beattie, Graham and Fulya Ersoy. 2021. "Effects of Peer Group Composition in a Post-Secondary Environment." AEA RCT Registry. December 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4440
Former Citation
Beattie, Graham , Fulya Ersoy and Fulya Ersoy. 2021. "Effects of Peer Group Composition in a Post-Secondary Environment." AEA RCT Registry. December 21. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/4440/history/107167
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2019-08-26
Intervention End Date
2022-01-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
--Quiz Scores/Answers
--Exam Scores
--Trust levels
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
--College GPA
--Time to Graduation
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
This experiment has two treatment arms: Individual Quiz and Group Quiz.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Each semester, one professor will teach one section whereas the other professor will teach two sections. The section of the professor who teaches only one section will be the Group Quiz section. One of the sections of the professor who teaches two sections will be randomly assigned to be the Individual Quiz section and the other will be the Group Quiz section. The randomization will be done with a coin flip.

In the Group Quiz sections, students are randomly assigned to their partners by a computer and this is repeated after every 4 quizzes.
Randomization Unit
Randomization for the treatment is done at the classroom level.
Individuals in the group quiz classrooms are further randomly assigned to their peers.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
6 classrooms
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 120 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
2 control classrooms (40 students) where students will take individual quizzes.
4 treatment classrooms (80 students) where students will take quizzes in pairs.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Loyola Marymount University
IRB Approval Date
2019-06-18
IRB Approval Number
LMU IRB 2019 SU 05-R
Analysis Plan