Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Research Application
LAUSD recognizes the value of high-quality research for improving education and serving the needs of future generations of students. On the other hand, the District has legal and moral obligations that require oversight of research activities conducted with district resources (such as data, facilities, employee time, and access to students). These obligations include:
Protecting students and employees from risk of harm, violations of rights, and losses of privacy
Protecting the educational process from unwarranted distractions and interruptions
Protecting public resources including data from misappropriation for private or unjustified use
Research conducted in LAUSD or with its resources must be justified in terms of the anticipated benefit to the District and not merely to the advancement of knowledge. LAUSD encourages research in the following areas:
Improving educational outcomes across all or selected subgroups of students
Improving the design and delivery of services that promote learning
Improving the management of the school environment
Improving parent involvement in education
Research should be designed to answer well-formed research questions of educational importance, and it should use methods that are appropriate to the research questions. Elements of the research design, including the theoretical framework, hypotheses, sample selection, instruments, and analysis plan should support the goals of the research, and it is the responsibility of the researcher to communicate these things clearly in the proposal. Even research that imposes no risks may be rejected by the review committee if they judge it to be poorly designed, described, or justified.
Committee for External Research Review (CERR) approval does not impose any obligation on any person, school, or office to cooperate with researchers. The burden on respondents should not be excessive. However, time has very different values in different contexts, and only participants can decide whether the cumulative burden on them is acceptable. Researchers bear responsibility to inform potential respondents of the anticipated benefits and burdens in obtaining their consent. Of course, no research may be conducted at a school site without the informed approval of the principal.
Depending on the research design, substantial time and effort may be required for staff to provide requested data with the appropriate selection and matching of records and concealment of personal identities. Cost of data extracts are $100.00 per hour. Approval of proposal will include a time estimate and dollar amount.
II. The Approval Process
A.
General Directions
Please
review the following checklist of the research proposal submission
form. The following materials are required for the online research
proposal submission form. We recommend you complete the following
sections in a Microsoft Word document, save it, and then copy and
paste into the online submission form.
The link to the
online submission form is listed at the end of the checklist.
You
will not be able to save your submission unless all required fields
are completed. You are unable to save information to edit at a later
time. We recommend that you copy and paste information into the
required fields to ensure all information is saved. Each field has a
character limit of 2500 characters. You can use the character count
tool in Microsoft Word to count all characters.
You will
receive a confirmation email once your proposal is submitted with a
proposal identification number. You will need to refer to this number
if resubmission is required.
Please contact Dr. Katherine
Hayes, the CERR chair, if you have any questions. She can be reached
at 213-241-5153 or at 213-241-5600. Her email
is kathy.hayes@lausd.net.
If you are sending an email with a question about the online
submission form for a proposal you already submitted, please title
the subject of the email as follows:
Your
Last Name, Research Proposal Title, Reason for Contact (in 5 words or
less)
B.
Checklist for Online Research Proposal Submission Required
Items
Please
note the order and format of each question and field as it will
appear on the online form. This will allow you to easily copy and
paste your information from your Word document. Descriptions for each
item are also available on the online form.
All
fields are required on the online research proposal submission
form.
Background
Information
Proposal Submission Window (A drop down menu of date options is given)
Researcher First Name
Researcher Last Name
Researcher Title (A drop down menu is provided with the following categories: Principal Investigator, Project Manager, Doctoral Candidate, Master's Candidate, Contractor or 'Add New Choice')
Address
Phone Number
Affiliation (A drop down menu is provided with the following categories: College/University, Organization, Research Institute, or 'Add New Choice').
Professional: Research is sponsored by universities, governmental agencies, or by similar non-profit organizations engaged in scholarly research.
Graduate student: Research is sponsored by a college/university and supervised by a faculty member. Please include a letter of sponsorship from the faculty advisor. This letter should have your faculty advisor's contact information and should be included in the Appendix.
Other: Research may sometimes be sponsored by a for-profit entity such as a textbook publisher, or a non-profit agency with a primary mission other than scholarly research. Because of the potential for biased outcomes, inappropriate incentives, and misappropriation of public resources, the proposal will be held to an extremely high standard of validity and justification in terms of benefit to the District.
Name of Institution
Applicant's E-Mail Address The confirmation of submission containing the proposal confirmation number will be sent to this e-mail address.
Please indicate if the main contact information is the same as the researcher contact information listed above. (Please indicate 'yes' or 'no' on the drop down menu. If you answer 'no,' indicating that the main contact information is different, you will need to complete the next three fields. If you answer 'yes,' no further information regarding the contact person is necessary.
Main Contact First Name
Main Contact Last Name
Main Contact E-Mail Address The confirmation of submission containing the proposal confirmation number will be sent to this e-mail address.
LAUSD Employee (Please indicate 'yes' or 'no' on the drop down menu.)
Will you be conducting research in your own classroom, at your own school, or in your own district office? (Please indicate 'yes' or 'no' on the drop down menu.)
Proposal
Proposal Title
Type of Research (A drop down menu is provided with the following categories: Action research, Archival study, Case study, Evaluation, Experiment, Intervention, Qualitative, or 'Add New Choice').
Study Start Date (The exact date must be selected)
Study End Date (The exact date must be selected)
Which Department will benefit from your work? (A drop down menu is provided with the following categories: Budget Services and Financial Planning, Human Resources/Talent Management, Intensive Support and Intervention, Curriculum and Instruction, Health and Human Services, Beyond the Bell/Supplemental Education Services, Special Education, Health and Curriculum or 'Add New Choice').
Abstract (2500 character limit) Please provide a brief, comprehensive summary of your research proposal indicating the purpose of the research, research questions, hypotheses (if applicable), description of research participants, research method (s), analytic approach and implications (approx. 200 words).
Statement of Purpose (2500 character limit) State clearly what you intend to accomplish with this research.
Literature Review/Theoretical Framework (2500 character limit) Please provide a brief statement of the theoretical basis for your study from prior published research (include reference citations in APA format) and what contribution your work is expected to make to your field. Include a Reference List in the Appendix.
Research Questions/Hypotheses (2500 character limit). Please state briefly the research questions you plan to address, along with any necessary hypotheses. Hypotheses are not required for qualitative research studies.
Methods (Design - 2500 character limit) Please describe the methods that you plan to use and how they will be used to address your research questions.
Methods (Sampling and Recruitment - 2500 character limit) Please describe the target population, sampling frame, and selection procedures.
Methods (Measures - 2500 character limit) Please describe the instruments of measurement you plan to use. Please include results from pilot testing and/or other evidence for the validity of the instruments. Although conditional approval may be granted on the basis of preliminary instruments, the complete and finalized instruments must be submitted before the project can begin.
Methods (Data Collection - 2500 character limit) Please describe the method of data collection and procedures you plan to use.
Methods (Type of Data Collection - 2500 character limit) A drop down menu is provided with the following categories: Survey, Interview, Focus Group, Classroom Observation, Shadowing, Secondary Data Analysis or 'Add New Choice').
Analysis (2500 character limit): Please describe your anticipated analysis plan, including specifics regarding your treatment of the data, statistical or otherwise.
Human Subjects Protections (2500 character limit): State which regulations and ethical codes will govern this research. Describe how the identity of the subjects and data will be protected.
Burden to the District (2500 character limit): Please describe the burden that your research will have on the District. The following is required of all research proposals that involve human subjects:
The research proposal will clearly state the number of participants, specifying the role of each group of participants. For example: Twenty math teachers in four schools will be observed, six principals will be interviewed, and forty students from five classrooms will be surveyed.
The research proposal will clearly state the amount of time to be requested from each participant and when the interaction will occur. For example: Math teachers will be observed for four class sessions during the first two weeks in March.
It is the District's interest to minimize the human costs of research. Therefore, the research proposal will provide a clear rationale for the number of participants, the number of contacts, and the total time required by each participant.
The research proposal will include a statement of how research participants are to be compensated for their involvement, if at all.
Instructional interventions must be approved by the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and School Support (OCISS). Instructional interventions designated for the purpose of a master's thesis or doctoral dissertation will not be accepted.
Benefit to the District (2500 character limit): The proposal must identify the benefits that the research is expected to provide to the District in terms of the following areas of interest:
Improving educational outcomes across all or selected subgroups of students
Improving the design and delivery of services that promote learning
Improving the management of the school environment
Improving parent involvement in education
Please indicate how your research will directly benefit the District and how will your findings be shared with sample schools and local districts.
Data Request (2500 character limit): Depending on the research design, substantial time and effort may be required for staff to provide requested data with the appropriate selection and matching of records and concealment of personal identities. Cost of data extracts are $100.00 per hour. Approval of proposal will include a time estimate and dollar amount.
Submit Institutional Review Board (IRB) Clearance: Please indicate if this proposal includes your signed CERR statement of agreement. Your signed CERR statement of agreement is required for submission. (Drop down list of options is given as Yes or No)
Upload Appendices, IRB, and CERR Statement of Agreement
You will be asked to upload a PDF or Microsoft Word document for the following:
Appendices: Please
include all appendices and additional materials in one PDF file,
including references, instruments, consent/assent forms, letter from
graduate student's sponsor (if applicable), and other supporting
documentation.
*Not required field.
IRB: Provide
the appropriate IRB documents or evidence that IRB review is not
required. Please include all completed IRB submissions in one PDF
file.
*Not required field.
CERR Statement of Agreement: Please scan your signed CERR statement of agreement and upload in PDF file. *CERR statement of agreement is required.
Online Research Submission Form:
When you are finished completing the Online Research Submission Form:
Review all material because you will not be able to edit once submitted.
Click the green "Save" icon in the top right corner of the form.
You will receive an error message if you (1) have exceeded the character limit or (2) have not filled out a required field.
Fix the errors and scroll to the upload section at the bottom to ensure your uploaded files are still selected (You may have to upload the files again).
Once all errors are fixed, click the "Save" icon.
If your submission was properly saved the message "Proposal Saved" will appear in green at the top of your screen.
You should immediately receive a confirmation e-mail with a proposal identification number assigned to your proposal submission.
NOTE:
If you leave the submission form page your proposal will NOT be saved.
DO NOT press the Cancel icon unless you would like to exit the proposal submission. Your proposal content will NOT be saved once you cancel.
Statement of Agreement
We require that all researchers sign a statement of agreement. This statement establishes that your research activities within Los Angeles Unified School District are in compliance with existing legal and ethical codes. It further establishes that the research you perform will not differ significantly from the research proposed, and that you are to provide the Committee with an executive summary of your findings. Violation of this statement of agreement will be considered a breach of contract.
Page
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Manship, Karen |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-22 |