HEADINGS:

• HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND EVALUATION
• THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS
• IF YOUR PROJECT IS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU WILL COLLECT NEW DATA
• IF YOUR PROJECT IS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU ARE USING DATA FROM SCHOOL OR CENTRAL RECORDS
• ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR PROJECT
• IF YOU NEED TO MODIFY OR EXTEND YOUR PROJECT

HOW TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO CONDUCT RESEARCH OR EVALUATION:

1. Collaborate with the appropriate AISD department to be sure your project is useful to AISD. This will increase the chance of your project being recommended for implementation.
2. Review the materials and information on this website. Please contact AISD’s Department of Program Evaluation at 414-3601 or externalresearch@austinisd.org if you have any questions or need additional assistance.
3. Preliminary review.
   • Submit an Application for External Research and all supporting materials to externalresearch@austinisid.org
     • Use the Application Checklist to assure that you are submitting all needed materials.
     • The Application Guidance form contains additional directions for selected applications items.
     • The project should meet AISD's application Review Criteria.
     • The description of your project should be sufficiently detailed to allow reviewers to determine exactly what you are asking participating AISD students.
     • The description of your project should be sufficiently detailed to allow reviewers to determine exactly what you are asking participating AISD students, staff, and/or parents to do, and how much time your data collection will require
     • At least one of your reviewers will have expertise in research methods and statistics; you may write your description of your research design accordingly.
     • Requirements for parent/guardian consent documents are detailed under Requirements for Data Collection and Release
   • Upon receipt, your application will be assigned a Project Number and to an External Research Coordinator for preliminary review.
   • If information in your application is insufficient or missing, you will be asked to revise it before it is reviewed by review committee. Please note that this will add to the time needed for review.

THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL PROCESS:

1. IWhen your application is complete, your External Research Coordinator will appoint a Review Committee made up of AISD staff. Committee members will be selected from among those staff most likely to be knowledgeable about the proposed research or evaluation subject or population.
2. If your project requires the use of AISD databases, AISD's Management Information Systems staff will review the application to determine feasibility and cost of data extraction. Data requests are currently processed at a rate of $28.50 per hour.
3. The research/evaluation review process takes four to six weeks. Applications should be submitted well in advance of the proposed starting date to ensure adequate time for review, for possible modifications, for contacting principals and/ or other AISD staff, for the collection of signed parental consent forms, and so on.
4. If you propose to implement a new curriculum or service, and/or professional development, your project will go through an additional review process to consider the fit of project activities with ongoing AISD programs and services. This review process may take up to two additional months (three months total).
5. After all reviewers have made their recommendations, the External Research Coordinator will compile them and notify you of the committee's decision.
   • Applications may be recommended as submitted, recommended with required changes, or declined.
   • If changes are required, the Coordinator will provide you with a description of them.
   • You should respond to the requested changes in writing and submit your response to the Coordinator.

IF YOUR PROJECT IS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU WILL COLLECT NEW DATA:

1. I. If your project requires that you collect data in schools or from AISD administrative staff, the External Research Coordinator will work with you to select appropriate schools or departments.
   • The Review Committee’s approval does not include approval for your project to be conducted in a specific location.
   • Selected schools or departments will be notified in writing that your study has been recommended for implementation and given a copy of your application.
   • The school principal or other administrator will be given adequate time to notify the Coordinator if he/she does not wish to participate in your study.
   • The Coordinator will tell you if any requested participants decline participation.
   • You may contact other requested participants after one business week.
   • You should anticipate that some requested participants will decline participation after discussing the project with you.
2. You must obtain the written approval from the principal in order to implement your project at a particular campus.
   • You must document this approval by having the principal sign a Principal Agreement to Participate Form.
   • You may have all participating principals sign one form or have each sign a separate form.
   • Should the principal of a participating school change while you are conducting your project, you must obtain approval from the new principal and submit a new Principal Agreement to Participate Form.
   • You are responsible for returning all signed form(s) to the Coordinator.
3. Parental consent is required for any student who will participate in your project or for whom you will obtain individually identifiable information.
   • Further information about consent procedures can be found in the Requirements for Data Collection and Release page.
   • You are responsible for providing copies of your parental consent forms to participating schools. Please provide extras in case some copies are lost or not returned. Campuses cannot photocopy consent forms or other materials.
   • The principal, your school contact and/or the Coordinator will work with you to determine how consent forms will be distributed.
   • A copy of each signed parental consent form must be kept in the student's permanent folder. You are responsible for making copies of signed forms and returning them to each participating school.
4. 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 parental consent form and do not need parental consent. For children younger than 7, the student assent form must be read aloud by the researcher. Children can verbally or physically indicate whether they understand what their participation entails and whether they agree to participate.
5. You may compensate individuals for study participation.
   • AISD policy specifies that employees are not allowed to accept any gift valued at over $50.
   • AISD staff who participate in external research/evaluation projects during the regular course of their duties may not receive compensation. However, small, classroom-related acknowledgments are permissible (e.g., pencils with your university logo, books, teacher store gift cards, etc.).
   • When your data collection is complete, and you will no longer be working in your participating school(s), please notify the Coordinator as outlined in the Project Completion Checklist.

IF YOUR PROJECT IS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU ARE USING DATA FROM SCHOOL OR CENTRAL RECORDS:

1. If your project requires data from AISD computer files, there will be a charge for creating the electronic files or summary reports.
   • Price and time required will vary according to programmer and programmer availability. A cost estimate will be provided to you before data are extracted.
   • Programming time is charged at $28.50 per hour.
   • Payment is due upon receipt of an invoice from the Department of Program Evaluation.
   • For more information about allowable charges, please contact the office of the Attorney General at 512-478-6736.
2. If you wish to use student data that are individually identifiable, you must obtain parent/guardian consent and student assent. See Requirements for Data Collection and Release.
3. III. 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.
   • The Coordinator will work with you to determine the need for a Data Sharing Agreement, and to establish the agreement if one is required.

ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR PROJECT:

1. Individual staff, students, and campuses must not be identified in any products that result from your work.
2. You must provide the Department of Program Evaluation with a summary of your method and conclusions as soon as one is completed.
   • Please send an electronic copy of an abstract or an executive summary of the results and current contact information for the primary author to the general mailbox externalresearch@austinisd.org or your Coordinator. Results summaries will be posted in an online AISD research library. Your contact information also will be posted so that participants and other interested parties can easily inquire for additional information or the full report. PLEASE DO NOT SEND A COPY OF YOUR FULL THESIS OR DISSERTATION UNLESS IT IS REQUESTED.
   • Personal feedback to principals and teachers involved in your project is also encouraged.
3. Providing an in-kind service to the school(s) in which you conducted your project is encouraged.
   • This might include volunteering to mentor or tutor individual students, serving as a guest speaker, or donating money or materials.
   • Other suggestions and assistance are available from Austin Partners in Education at (512) 414-3991.

IF YOU NEED TO MODIFY OR EXTEND YOUR PROJECT:

1. If you would like to collect data not included in your original application:
   • You must submit an updated application with your additions or changes clearly marked.
   • Note in the “Application Number” section that this is an addendum to an existing project and include your assigned application number.
   • Describe all additions to the project.
   • Attach updated or new consents and measures.
   • Your application may be reviewed again if you substantially change your measures and/or methodology.
2. If you would like to collect data in additional schools:
   • Please write a letter or e-mail to the Coordinator explaining why additional schools are needed, and specify the number of schools you are requesting.
   • If your request to add schools is approved, your Coordinator will send written notice of approval to the newly added campuses.
   • You should follow all previous procedures for contacting principals, obtaining and documenting principal approval, and obtaining parental consents. See IF YOUR STUDY IS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND YOU WILL COLLECT NEW DATA.
3. If you would like to change your project’s ending date:
   • Please write a letter or e-mail to the Coordinator explaining why additional time is needed, and specify a new ending date.
   • The Coordinator will inform you whether or not your request for an extension is approved.