Overcoming the Planning Fallacy: Evidence from Online Education

Last registered on February 21, 2017

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Overcoming the Planning Fallacy: Evidence from Online Education
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0000972
Initial registration date
February 21, 2017

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
February 21, 2017, 1:46 PM EST

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

Locations

Region

Primary Investigator

Affiliation
United States Military Academy

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Chicago

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2017-02-15
End date
2018-10-01
Secondary IDs
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of planning tools on course completion and retention at a large not-for-profit online university. In particular, this research will examine whether students who complete a detailed study calendar and receive reminders about their study and course-completion plans complete more course credits and are more likely to re-enroll in courses than students who do not create a calendar or receive study reminders. This study will also examine whether students who, in addition to creating calendars and receiving reminders, also receive follow-up from mentors experience additional academic performance. In addition to identifying practical tools that could help online students achieve greater academic success, this study will inform whether problems with planning and memory are significant factors in poor performance in online education settings.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Patterson, Richard and Nolan Pope. 2017. "Overcoming the Planning Fallacy: Evidence from Online Education." AEA RCT Registry. February 21. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.972-1.0
Former Citation
Patterson, Richard and Nolan Pope. 2017. "Overcoming the Planning Fallacy: Evidence from Online Education." AEA RCT Registry. February 21. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/972/history/14237
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Please see attached analysis plan
Intervention Start Date
2017-02-15
Intervention End Date
2017-11-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Please see attached analysis plan
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Please see attached analysis plan
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
computer randomization done in office
Randomization Unit
Student mentor level
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
803
Sample size: planned number of observations
12000 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Please see attached analysis plan
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Please see attached analysis plan
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
SBS-IRB
IRB Approval Date
2015-10-04
IRB Approval Number
IRB15-1036
IRB Name
US Military Academy Human Research Protection Program
IRB Approval Date
2015-11-19
IRB Approval Number
16-92 Patterson-Pope
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Analysis Plan for Overcoming the Planning Fallacy

MD5: 71bfa1b2167cd4563b69d867bbbc26cd

SHA1: 581353a7fcf145a8533a261af842195e6d87defd

Uploaded At: February 15, 2017

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