Evaluation of change in job knowledge and motivation due to interactions on a Facebook peer group.

Last registered on October 04, 2022

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Evaluation of change in job knowledge and motivation due to interactions on a Facebook peer group.

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008067

Initial registration date

August 13, 2021

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 17, 2021, 12:01 PM EDT

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

Last updated

October 04, 2022, 12:16 AM EDT

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

Locations

Country

India

Region

Bihar

Primary Investigator

Name

Sneha Shashidhara

Affiliation

CSBC

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Sharon Barnhardt

PI Affiliation

CSBC

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

Completed

Start date

2021-08-03

End date

2022-03-31

Keywords

Behavior, Health

Additional Keywords

Peer Learning, Online Learning, Job performance

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

JEEViKA is a joint initiative of the Government of Bihar and World Bank that strives for the social and economic empowerment of the rural poor. Facebook and the BMGF (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) have partnered with JEEViKA to introduce peer groups of JEEViKA cadres on Facebook. As a part of that partnership CSBC (Center for Social and Behaviour Change) will conduct a rigorous evaluation to determine whether online peer training on topic-specific closed Facebook groups with carefully curated content improves topic knowledge, motivation, and job performance. To this end, we will conduct an RCT with a treatment group that includes participants in the health and nutrition Facebook group where they will receive knowledge collaterals as well as opportunities to engage in work-related conversations, and a control group with participants that are not part of any Facebook group. We will use baseline and endline phone surveys to measure the impact of the Facebook groups.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Shashidhara, Sneha and Sharon Barnhardt. 2022. "Evaluation of change in job knowledge and motivation due to interactions on a Facebook peer group.." AEA RCT Registry. October 04. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8067-2.1

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Treatment includes being added to a closed job related Facebook group that will receive carefully curated content on health and nutrition topics, as well as other messages to increase engagement and discussion on job-related topics on the group.

Intervention Start Date

2021-08-23

Intervention End Date

2022-03-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Knowledge score, Job performance Indicator, and Motivation to do the job

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Each construct is estimated by all the questions referring to that construct. Questions are of the likert-scale rating type, binary yes-no, numerical input, or choosing one of the the predetermined options.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Our design is a framed field experiment. JEEViKA cadres of MRP, CNRP and CMs will be recruited into 2 groups (one treatment arm and one control). Details of the recruitment criteria and the treatment arms are explained in the following sections.
Recruitment is followed by a baseline survey that includes questions on knowledge, motivation, job performance indicators, smartphone and social media use, and demographic details. Treatment includes knowledge collaterals and engagement on a health and nutrition Facebook group. A final endline survey will be conducted that matches the baseline survey.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Participants from each cluster-level federation (CLF) responsible for about 50 villages, are to be assigned to one of two groups using stratified cluster randomization. Participants will be clustered at the CLF level, i.e., each CLF will be assigned to treatment or control group. Stratified random sampling process ensures that equal numbers of each block (an administrative unit above CLF) in treatment and control.

Randomization Unit

Clusters at the level of CLF

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

30 CLFs

Sample size: planned number of observations

30 clusters, and 300 participants

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

15 treatment clusters and 15 control clusters

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

Our sample size is based on similar previous studies. This being a phase I study, we leaned towards a smaller sample to get a quick estimate of how effective the Facebook group is. Three benchmark papers5,6,7 was used to estimate the per-arm sample and cluster size required for the JEEViKA Facebook Groups Evaluation (power = 0.8, alpha = 0.05). All three papers conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial with frontline health workers in Bihar, India. Their target sample was similar to JEEViKA’s health and nutrition workers, who are also based in Bihar. The outcome indicator of interest was job performance, and effect sizes from secondary outcomes including job satisfaction and job confidence were also extracted. Since none of these papers revealed the intra-cluster correlations of their sample, we estimated sample size assuming three potential ICCs: 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2. Power analysis gives us sample estimates between 35-442 per arm and 1-16 per cluster.

Supporting Documents and Materials

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