Inspiring the Next Generation of Students in Higher Learning

Last registered on July 16, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Inspiring the Next Generation of Students in Higher Learning
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0009788
Initial registration date
July 21, 2022

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
July 26, 2022, 1:14 PM EDT

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

Last updated
July 16, 2026, 4:42 PM EDT

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

Locations

Country
Canada
Region
Ontario

Primary Investigator

Name
Tongzhe Li
Affiliation
University of Guelph
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Danielle Roy
PI Affiliation
University of Guelph
Contact Investigator
PI Name
Ying Zhou
PI Affiliation
University of Guelph
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2022-07-25
End date
2023-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Education, Gender, Lab
Additional Keywords
Representation, social identity, competition, experiments, Nobel Prize roundtable
JEL code(s)
A2, C90, J16
Secondary IDs
REB#21-12-016
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This research employs an artefactual framed-field experiment with students at the investigating University to assess how representation affects individuals’ perceptions of their own academic ability as well as their likelihood to pursue higher education. The experiment also investigates participants’ perceptions of the likelihood that their peers will pursue further education, by gender. Participation is open to current University students at the investigating University across all degree levels and academic fields.

Participants will view a video depicting a panel of notable academics. Treatments will vary across the panel depicted with regards to the gender diversity of the academics shown. Participants will be asked a series of questions both before and after the video is shown to compare treatment effects. We assess the impact of representation in academia on students’ perceptions of their own aptitude, their likelihood of pursuing further education, and the likelihood their male and female peers will pursue further education. Expert predictions will also be elicited and compared to experimental outcomes.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Li, Tongzhe, Danielle Roy and Ying Zhou. 2026. "Inspiring the Next Generation of Students in Higher Learning." AEA RCT Registry. July 16. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.9788-1.4
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Treatments are administered between groups at the session-level. Each treatment and control group will view one of four different videos depicting a panel of notable people within academia across varying academic fields. Participants will be asked a series of questions both before and after the video is shown to compare treatment effects. Treatments will vary the characteristics of the people presented in the video with regards to the gender diversity and representativeness of the panel of academics. The control group will view a video with no gender diversity amongst the academics depicted (i.e. all-male representation). Additionally, participants will respond to binding questions which elicit their perception of both their male and female peers’ likelihood to pursue further education.

A separate survey will be conducted online hosted by the Social Science Prediction Platform (https://socialscienceprediction.org/). This survey will elicit field experts’ predictions for treatment outcomes which can then be compared to experimental outcomes. Respondents provide predictions for the effect of the treatment on students’ likelihood of pursing further education, by gender.
Intervention Start Date
2022-07-25
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Examine how representation in academic fields (treatment) affects a participant’s own perceptions of:
a. their academic ability compared to their peers
b. their future career performance compared to their peers
c. their likelihood to pursue further education

2. Examine how perceptions of one’s own ability differ by gender and the interaction between the treatment and gender

3. Examine how individuals’ estimations of their peers’ likelihood to pursue further education differs between male and female peers and how this interacts with the treatments
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
1. Examine how demographic indicators affect participants’ own perceptions of their academic ability and their future career success.

2. Examine how demographic indicators affect participants’ own perceptions of their likelihood to pursue additional education.

3. Examine how treatment outcomes compare to expert predictions.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
1. Participants recruited to the experiment will be current students (Undergraduate and Graduate-level) at the investigating University across academic fields. Sessions will be held in-person and potentially online (via zoom) formats.
2. Participants will provide their field of study and estimated GPA and answer a pre-video questionnaire. Participants will also respond to binding questions which elicit their perceptions of their peers’ likelihood to pursue further education, by gender.
3. Participants will view a video showcasing notable persons in academia. The video shown will differ between treatments and will vary the gender diversity of the panel of academics depicted.
4. Participants will answer a post-video questionnaire. Participants will again respond to binding questions which elicit their perceptions of their peers’ likelihood to pursue further education, by gender.
5. Participants will provide demographic information.
6. Participants will be entered into a random draw to win 1 of 50 $25 gift cards. Additionally, the participant who guesses closes to the true value for the selected binding question will receive a $25 gift card (separate to the random draw).
7. Expert predictions of treatment outcomes are elicited via the Social Science Prediction Platform (https://socialscienceprediction.org/) and are compared to experimental results after the study’s conclusion.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Participants are randomly selected into treatment sessions via random sorting in Excel. Random draw gift card recipients are selected via a random number generator.
Randomization Unit
Randomization of treatments is at the session-level.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
268 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
268 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Estimated 134 in control, 134 in treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Target sample size calculated using the following parameters: 5% significance level, 80% power, Effect size = 20% difference (delta), N2/N1 = 1 where N2 is sample size of treatment group, N1 is sample size of control group. Assuming approximately 50% of the participants are female students.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Guelph Research Ethics Board
IRB Approval Date
2022-07-08
IRB Approval Number
REB#21-12-016
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-analysis Plan

MD5: d3e3167488ee49d35b6b8182ae6e4dfd

SHA1: 3f9dcd29dd635a3fb611f4ac69ef2d8d3f66d29c

Uploaded At: July 21, 2022