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Adaptive Randomization in Conjoint Survey Experiments

Author

Listed:
  • Gosciak, Jennah
  • Molitor, Daniel
  • Lundberg, Ian

    (Cornell University)

Abstract

Human choices are often multi-dimensional. For example, a person deciding which of two immigrants is more worthy of admission to a country might weigh the prospective immigrants' education, age, country of origin, and employment history. Conjoint experiments have rapidly generated new insight into these multidimensional choices. By independently randomizing the attributes of a pair of fictitious profiles, researchers summarize the average contribution that each attribute makes to an overall choice. But what if the effect of one attribute depends on the values of other attributes? We present a method that uses data-adaptive experimentation to search for heterogeneity in the effect of one focal attribute as a function of all other attributes. Our empirical application of this method shows that U.S. adults weigh the education of an immigrant much more heavily for certain immigrants than for others. By targeting the heterogeneous effects of a focal attribute, our approach complements conjoint designs that target the average effects of all attributes.

Suggested Citation

  • Gosciak, Jennah & Molitor, Daniel & Lundberg, Ian, 2025. "Adaptive Randomization in Conjoint Survey Experiments," SocArXiv 69y2j_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:69y2j_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/69y2j_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 181-209, October.
    5. Leeper, Thomas J. & Hobolt, Sara B. & Tilley, James, 2020. "Measuring Subgroup Preferences in Conjoint Experiments," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 207-221, April.
    6. Leeper, Thomas J. & Hobolt, Sara & Tilley, James, 2020. "Measuring subgroup preferences in conjoint experiments," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 100944, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Lundberg, Shelly & Rose, Elaina, 2000. "Parenthood and the earnings of married men and women," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(6), pages 689-710, November.
    8. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2004. "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 991-1013, September.
    9. Hainmueller, Jens & Hopkins, Daniel J. & Yamamoto, Teppei, 2014. "Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis: Understanding Multidimensional Choices via Stated Preference Experiments," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(1), pages 1-30, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Molitor & Samantha Gold, 2025. "Anytime-Valid Inference in Adaptive Experiments: Covariate Adjustment and Balanced Power," Papers 2506.20523, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2025.

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