1. Who must fill out an application to conduct research and evaluation?
2. Am I conducting research and evaluation?
3. Why does AISD have formal application procedures?
4. Where do I get application materials?
5. How do I submit an application?
6. Is there a way to increase the probability of getting my project recommended?
7. Who decides what projects are recommended for implementation?
8. What is the basis for review committee decisions?
9. What happens if my application is recommended for implementation?
10. For what types of data do I need to obtain parent/guardian consent?
11. What information must be included in the parental/guardian consent form?
12. How do I obtain consent from parents/guardians?
13. For what types of data do I need to obtain student assent?
14. What information must be included in the student assent form?
15. How do I obtain consent from students?
16. For what types of data do I need a Data Sharing Agreement?
17. How do I obtain a Data Sharing Agreement?
18. What am I required to do while I’m conducting the project?
19. What happens after the project is complete?
20. Whom should I contact for further information?
21. Does AISD prefer certain kinds of research topics and/or methodologies?
22. Does AISD support Participatory Action Research??

1. Who must fill out an application to conduct research and evaluation?
You must fill out an application to conduct research and evaluation if you:

• are not employed by AISD, or
• work for AISD, but are doing research and evaluation that is for your own purposes, such as a class project or assignment, thesis, dissertation, conference presentation or journal publication.

2. Am I conducting research and evaluation?
You are conducting research and evaluation if you are collecting information from or about AISD students, parents, or staff. Research and evaluation includes, but is not limited to, collecting data to:

• fulfill requirements of a school project or degree,
• prepare a conference presentation or journal publication, or
• evaluate a program.

3. Why does AISD have formal application procedures?
These procedures were established to (a) protect students and staff from unnecessary or overly burdensome data collection, (b) ensure compliance with privacy laws, (c) ensure compliance with ethical standards concerning human subjects, and (d) contribute to the quality of research and evaluation conducted in AISD.

AISD supports high quality educational research and evaluation. Through our external research process, we partner with outside researchers and evaluators to improve educational practices, and thus, improve student outcomes. Where possible, AISD supports external research and evaluation efforts of Federal or State Governmental Entities.

4. Where do I get application materials?
All needed materials can be downloaded from this website. See link at the bottom of the main Conducting Research and Evaluation page.

5. How do I submit an application?
To complete an application, follow the instructions on the External Research Procedures Overview page. Use the Application Checklist to assure that all needed materials are included when you apply.

6. Is there a way to increase the probability of getting my project recommended?
AISD supports a wide range of research projects including those concerning curriculum and instruction, academic achievement, professional development and other many other topics in education, educational psychology and developmental psychology. In general, approved projects meet most or all of the Application Review Criteria

Please also note: Due to recent increases in district programs and evaluations focused on high school, AISD high school students and staff are overwhelmed with demands on their time. Therefore, the Superintendent and Associate Superintendent are limiting the number of external research projects involving new data collection with AISD high school students and staff. Applications with study samples restricted to or including large numbers of high school students and/or staff face a higher probability of being declined for implementation during the 2008-2009 school year.

This year the Superintendent's Cabinet has expressed particular interest in several research topics. You are encouraged to examine these priorities and/or to consult with knowledgeable AISD staff before you apply. Please call Ms. Kim Vasquez at 512-414-3601 or email externalresearch@austinisd.org if you need a list of appropriate contacts.

Of course, there are many projects concerning these topics, and others, currently implemented in the district. All new proposals are reviewed from the perspective of seeking opportunities to collaborate with external researchers whose projects overlap substantially with our own, to avoid duplication of effort, to reduce the data collection burden for staff and students, and to maximize efficiency. An example of recent effective collaborations is available here: Partnership Letter.

7. Who decides what projects are recommended for implementation?
Each application is given to a Review Committee. For more information see THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS in the External Research Procedures Overview section

8. What is the basis for review committee decisions?
Each member of the Review Committee is given AISD’s Application review Criteria.

9. What happens if my application is recommended for implementation?
This depends on whether your application requested permission to collect data from AISD students, staff and/or parents, requested permission to obtain data from existing AISD data bases, or requested permission to do both. See If Your Project is Recommended for Implementation and You will Collect New Data and/or If Your Project is Recommended for Implementation and You are using Data from School or Central Records.

10. For what types of data do I need to obtain parent/guardian consent?
If data will be collected about or from individual students, parent/guardian consent is required. A copy of your proposed parental consent form should be attached to your application. See Data Release Procedures and the Parent/Guardian Consent Forms in English and Spanish.

11. What information must be in the parental/guardian consent form?
The parental consent form should contain all information about the study that will allow parents/guardians to give full and informed consent. In most cases, parent consent must be active rather than passive. Your external research coordinator can answer questions you have about instances in which passive/opt-out consent will be acceptable.

Consent forms should be provided in English and in the anticipated home language of participants' parents/families. In most cases, a Spanish translation will be needed unless your application clearly describes your targeted sample as non-Spanish-speaking. See Data Release Procedures and templates for Parent/Guardian Consent Forms in English and Spanish.

12. How do I obtain consent from parents/guardians?
Your school contact, the school principal and/or the Coordinator will work with you to develop procedures for contacting parents. See Section III of If Your Project is Recommended for Implementation and You will Collect New Data.

13. For what types of data do I need to obtain student assent?
If your research involves student surveys or interviews, active student assent is required. Written student assent is necessary for children between ages 7 and 17. Children 18 years of age or older sign the parent/guardian consent form and do not need parental consent. Students younger than 7 years of age can verbally or physically indicate their assent. Researcher must read aloud student assent form and ask student whether s/he understands what their participation entails and whether s/he agrees to participate.

14. What information must be included in the student assent form?
Students should be asked to sign an assent form written at a level children 7 years of age can understand (see English and Spanish assent) that briefly and simply describes the purpose of the study along with an overview, from the child's perspective, of what s/he will do in the study and how much time their participation will take.

15. How do I obtain consent from students?
Your school contact, the school principal, and/or your ERC will work with you to develop procedures for contacting parents.

16. For what types of data do I need a Data Sharing Agreement?
If you wish to use de-identified, individual-level data, it may be necessary for you or your organization to enter into a Data Sharing Agreement with Austin ISD. A data sharing agreement defines the data to be released, its intended uses, confidentiality protections, and procedures for data disposal at the conclusion of the study.

17. How do I obtain a Data Sharing Agreement?
Your Coordinator will work with you to determine the need for a Data Sharing Agreement and will draft the agreement if one is required.

18. What am I required to do while I’m conducting the project?

You should work with staff at your participating schools to assure that meetings, interviews, observations, the administration of instruments, and so on, are scheduled in advance and at their convenience.

You must maintain the confidentiality of records and respect the privacy and rights of individuals and schools. Data MUST be disposed of when their use is complete, especially if they include numbers or identification numbers.

As you conduct an external research or evaluation study in AISD, you must abide by standards of professional conduct at all times. Failure to do so will be sufficient cause for terminating the project.

Any violations of procedures noted by teachers or other participants in the study will be reported to the school principal. The principal will then, if necessary, discuss such infractions with the ERC, who will contact your Project Director or Supervising Professor and others as necessary.

Other project requirements are detailed in the External Research Procedures Overview on this website. See especially, If Your Project is Recommended for Implementation and You will Collect New Data LINK within above; and/or If Your Project is Recommended for Implementation and You are using Data from School or Central Records.

19. What happens after the project is complete?
When your data collection is complete, and you will no longer be working in your participating school(s), please notify your Coordinator via email at externalresearch@austinisd.org (see the Project Completion Checklist for the full list of explanations upon study completion).

You also must provide the Department of Program Evaluation with a summary of your study results as soon as one is completed. If your results are later reported in a more complete form (book, dissertation, journal article, etc.) please also provide AISD with your contact information so that interested parties may contact you for the full report.

Personal feedback to participants involved in your project is also encouraged.

20. Whom should I contact for further information?
You are welcome to email requests for additional information to externalresearch@austinisd.org or to call Ms. Kim Vasquez in the Department of Program Evaluation, 512-414-3601.

21. Does AISD prefer certain kinds of research topics and/or methodologies?
AISD gives preference to projects that offer valuable information to a particular school, AISD as a whole, or education in general. AISD welcomes research using a wide range of methods, including observational, quantitative (surveys, structured interviews) and qualitative (focus groups, ethnographies, and increasingly, participatory action research, PAR) techniques, in as much as the data collection methods, instruments and analysis procedures are suitable for the research questions under investigation.

AISD also values investigators' willingness to accommodate campus priorities during the instructional day, and efforts to minimize the data collection burden for students and staff (for more details see Application Review Criteria).

AISD does not have research priorites per se; however there are some research topics that are of particular interest to the Superintendent and his Cabinet this year.

AISD also welcomes opportunities to collaborate with external research partners in ongoing work (see Letter of Support).

22. Does AISD support Participatory Action Research?
Human research ethics require us to protect participants' rights to be fully informed about the research in which they participate and to voluntarily consent/assent to participate. Participatory Action Research and other researcher-as-participant models can compromise our ability to ensure that participants do not feel coerced into participating.

AISD will review proposals for PAR, but please be advised that we will require recruiting and data collection ensure participant protection in one or more of the following ways, or in other ways as dictated by the research design:

1. The researcher removes him or herself from data collection duties by engaging the assistance of a co-PI who does not have real or perceived authority over the participants and who is not under the authority of the PI.
2. The researcher develops third-party referral and recruiting procedures, so that they have no knowledge of a participant's decision until consent has been obtained.
3. The researcher recruits staff, parents, or students from a campus other than their own.
4. An administrative PI delegates their responsibilities for staff evaluation and supervision during the study period.
5. A course instructor will delegate their responsibilities for grading and assigning course grades during the study period.

THESE PROCEDURES SHALL IN NO WAY BE INTERPRETED AS BEING IN CONFLICT WITH OPEN RECORDS REQUIREMENTS. REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION EXTANT IN SYSTEM RECORDS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT.