Interviewer Effects on Identity

Last registered on April 10, 2020
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Interviewer Effects on Identity
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005705
Initial registration date
April 10, 2020

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
April 10, 2020, 11:44 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Ukraine
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Henry Hale
Affiliation
George Washington University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Olga Onuch
PI Affiliation
University of Manchester
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Gwendolyn Sasse
PI Affiliation
ZOiS
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Volodymyr Kulyk
PI Affiliation
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2020-04-13
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
political behavior, ethnic politics, nationalism
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
This study randomizes the assignment of interviewers with different ethnic backgrounds to respondents in a nationwide telephone poll of 2000 residents of Ukraine, a multi-ethnic country. This will enable us to test whether respondents systematically self-represent their own identity as well as political views often associated with identity in a survey setting differently when interviewed by interviewers who have different identity traits likely to be discernible through speech (over the phone). The relevant interviewer traits are language of childhood (Russian and Ukrainian) and region where one primarily lived prior to age 14. The study will explore heterogeneity of effects across regions of Ukraine and communities of varying degrees of diversity.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Hale, Henry et al. 2020. "Interviewer Effects on Identity." AEA RCT Registry. April 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5705-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
All respondents in a nationally representative sample of 2000 adults in Ukraine will be randomly assigned an interviewer from KIIS’s call center, where interviewers have different identity backgrounds that are generally discernible through speech patterns. Assigned interviewers will vary on childhood language and region of primary residence through age 14. Our expectation is that interviewees will tend to report belonging to ethnic and linguistic identity categories in line with those of the interviewer. We also expect that interviewees will tend to report positions on attitude questions that are widely associated in Ukraine with the ethnic categories represented by the interviewers (we measure support for NATO, for compromise with Russia, and for Russian as a second state language).
Intervention Start Date
2020-04-13
Intervention End Date
2020-04-24

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Our central outcomes of interest are self-reported identity (language chosen for the survey, nationality, native language, language of everyday life), attachment to ethnic group and country, and attitudes to NATO, compromise with Russia, and making Russian a second state language in Ukraine.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
We are primarily interested in seeing whether the distribution of answers on the questions of identity, attachment, and views are different when obtained by interviewers whose main childhood language was Russian than when obtained by interviewers who main childhood language was Ukrainian. Secondarily, we are interested in whether these answers vary systematically by the region in which the interviewer grew up.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment (full text attached to this registry) is embedded in the regular “omnibus” survey of the highly reputable Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). The survey is based on a stratified random sample with the strata being defined by the three-digit main operator prefixes and random generation of the rest of the number. Interviews will be conducted by phone using the CATI method.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomized assignment of interviewers to specific numbers is achieved by the randomization function in KIIS’s survey software.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
0
Sample size: planned number of observations
2000 adult residents of Ukraine
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
50-70 interviewers in the call center will be randomly assigned to the 2000 respondents.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
George Washington University
IRB Approval Date
2020-04-08
IRB Approval Number
IRB#NCR202427
Analysis Plan

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

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