Social Coordination in Response to Disaster: Experimental Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Last registered on December 14, 2020
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Social Coordination in Response to Disaster: Experimental Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0005716
First published
December 11, 2020, 5:47 PM EST

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

Last updated
December 14, 2020, 11:16 AM EST

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

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Ha Diep-Nguyen
Affiliation
Purdue University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Jun Yang
PI Affiliation
Indiana University
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2020-04-13
End date
2021-12-31
Keywords
Other, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Trust, Donation, Public Goods, Cooperative Economic Behavior
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Abstract
We study the cooperative economic behavior of donations to provide public goods in response to disastrous events. We partnered with a charitable organization that aims to purchase and distribute surgical masks to smaller hospitals and facilities in areas hard-hit by COVID-19. We launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for its operations in April 2020. We randomly rotated different versions of this campaign's GoFundMe webpage that vary in profile pictures, campaign descriptions, and operation updates. Our analysis has three components. First, we construct a measure of each version's trustworthiness based on the ratings provided by the subjects on Amazon MTurk. We then analyze the connection between the campaign page features and the level of trustworthiness. Second, we study how perceived trustworthiness affects contributions to the campaign. Finally, we extend our measure of trustworthiness to all campaigns that are related to PPE provision in the GoFundMe platform for generalization.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Diep-Nguyen, Ha and Jun Yang. 2020. "Social Coordination in Response to Disaster: Experimental Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic." AEA RCT Registry. December 14. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.5716-1.1
Former Citation
Diep-Nguyen, Ha and Jun Yang. 2020. "Social Coordination in Response to Disaster: Experimental Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic." AEA RCT Registry. December 14. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/5716/history/81741
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We have two interventions in this project.

First, we partner with a charitable organization that aims to procure and distribute surgical masks to smaller hospitals and facilities in areas hard-hit by COVID-19 in launching a GoFundMe campaign. We randomly rotate different versions of the campaign's GoFundMe webpage that vary in profile pictures, campaign descriptions, and operation updates.

Second, we conduct a survey on Amazon mTurk that randomly displays different versions of the campaign's GoFundMe page and asks the participants to evaluate the displayed versions' credibility.
Intervention Start Date
2020-04-16
Intervention End Date
2020-05-15

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Donation amount on GoFundMe
2. Campaign credibility score from mTurk survey
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In the first intervention, we work with a charitable organization that procures and distributes surgical masks to smaller hospitals and facilities in areas hard-hit by COVID-19 in launching a fund-raising campaign on GoFundMe. GoFundMe allows for changes and updates to the campaign page. Specifically, we create 16 versions of the campaign page:
2 variations in the gender of the profile picture: Male and Female
2 variations in the ethnicity of the profile picture: White and Non-white
2 variations in campaign description: Long with more details and Short with fewer details
2 variations in campaign updates on how the organization has used the funds to procure and distribute masks: Show updates and No updates

We then randomly rotate the campaign page every 3 hours from 9 AM to 9 PM for 4 shifts (and return to the default page from 9 PM to 9 AM). We have the rotation up for 30 days from April 16 to May 15, 2020.

In the second intervention, we run a survey on Amazon mTurk to gauge the donors' perception of the campaign's credibility. In the survey, we first show the subjects a campaign page randomly chosen from the 16 versions we use in the first intervention. We then ask the subjects to rate the credibility of the displayed campaign version and the amount they would donate to the campaign. To incentivize truthful telling, we offer a raffle in which if they win, the indicated amount will be deducted from the prize money and donated to the campaign on their behalf.

Our analysis has three components.
First, we construct a measure of each version's trustworthiness based on the evaluation by subjects on Amazon MTurk. We then analyze the connection between campaign page features and the level of trustworthiness.
Second, we study how trustworthiness affects contributions to the campaign.
Finally, we extend our measure of trustworthiness to all campaigns that are related to PPE provision in the GoFundMe platform for generalization.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization was done by computer using Python.
Randomization Unit
Experimental sessions
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
120 sessions
Sample size: planned number of observations
500
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
120 treated sessions, 30 control sessions
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Indiana University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2020-11-23
IRB Approval Number
2011539981
IRB Name
Indiana University Institutional Review Board
IRB Approval Date
2020-04-16
IRB Approval Number
2004265242
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