SMS Nudges for Better Academic Performance: a Non-Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial

Last registered on October 26, 2021

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

SMS Nudges for Better Academic Performance: a Non-Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0008399

Initial registration date

October 25, 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

October 26, 2021, 2:56 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country

Germany

Region

Baden Wüttemberg

Primary Investigator

Name

Hamid Oskorouchi

Affiliation

University of Hohenheim

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Alicia Brandt

PI Affiliation

University of Hohenheim

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Alfonso Sousa-Poza

PI Affiliation

University of Hohenheim

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2021-11-03

End date

2022-03-31

Keywords

Behavior, Education

Additional Keywords

Nudging

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial is based on or builds upon one or more prior RCTs.

Abstract

The shift to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic has challenged Universities to maintain high students' motivation and performance. This study will investigate the effectiveness of text messages (SMS) as a nudging tool to increase learning engagement and improve academic performance. Specifically, we will test if SMS can improve academic performance (as measured by final exam grades) regardless of the information they convey. Our hypothesis is that receiving SMS motivates the students to study regularly throughout the semester.
We will run a non-placebo randomized controlled trial (RCT) at the University of Hohenheim (Germany) within a large postgraduate course in "Multivariate Data Analysis" (MVDA; winter term 2021/2022). The students (who will provide their consent to take part in this study) will be randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The former will receive a total of 34 short SMS throughout the semester, whereas the latter group will have access to the same information via the ILIAS online learning platform. By providing the control group the information on a platform (and not via text messages) allows us to directly measure the motivational effect of such messages (as oppose to content). Before the start of the experiment, the students will participate in a survey that collects basic socio-demographic variables. At the end of the experiment, but before the first exam period, we will ask the students to complete an end-line survey about their course satisfaction and study experience during the semester.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Brandt, Alicia, Hamid Oskorouchi and Alfonso Sousa-Poza. 2021. "SMS Nudges for Better Academic Performance: a Non-Placebo Randomized Controlled Trial." AEA RCT Registry. October 26. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.8399-1.0

Sponsors & Partners

Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

The treatment group will receive a set of SMS at random days (times) of the week (day) (Monday-Friday, 8AM-7PM).
The SMS will comprise reminders or will provide information related to the topics thought in the online class.
The control group will not receive any SMS, but has access to the messages in a dedicated folder of the ILIAS online platform.

Intervention Start Date

2021-11-10

Intervention End Date

2022-02-02

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

-Final exam grades (only first exam period)
-Online tests (during the semeter)

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

-Online tests (during the semeter):
- Pass/Failed (50% correct answers)
- Number of attempts (proxy for engagment during the semester)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Course satisfaction (placebo)
Use of the online forum (transmission channel)
Regular studies (transmission channel)
Coping with online teaching (transmission channel)
Correct response for specific exam questions on which topic SMS were sent (placebo)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

A non-blinded non-placebo RCT with two equally-sized arms.
Treatment group: receives reminder and lecture-related SMS (no new information) at random days and times (7AM-7PM, Mon-Fri).
Control group: no SMS, but content available on the ILIAS online teaching platform.

-Balance of baseline characteristics after randomization.
-Estimation of the intention-to-treat effect (ITT) of SMS nudges on primary and secondary outcomes via regression analysis with and without control variables (baseline characteristics)

Notes: SMS design and allocation are blind to the lecturers teaching and preparing the final exam and the online tests.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

Randomization done in office by a computer.
The sample will be equally divided into treatment and control group.

Randomization Unit

Individuals (students)

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

1 University postgraduate course

Sample size: planned number of observations

200-250 individuals

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

100-125 individuals

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

Final exam grade (0-100), Alpha=5%, Beta=80%, N=210, SD=14.6 (computed using 2020-2021 data): Minimum Detectable Effect Size: 3.5 points. Online tests (0-10), Alpha=5%, Beta=80%, N=1300, SD=1.17 (computed using 2020-2021 data): Minimum Detectable Effect Size: 0.18 points.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB