Administrative Procedure 295: External and Internal Research

Legal References

Education Act: Section 265 (1) (m) Duties of Principal: Access to School or Class; R.R.O. Reg. 298 Operation of Schools: Section 11 Duties of Principals - Supervise Instruction; Ontario Regulation 474/00: Access to School Premises; Anti-Racism Act, 2017; Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism; Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA)


Related References

Administrative Procedure (AP) 195: Freedom of Information (FOI) and Protection of Privacy; AP 204: Program Planning; Guidelines for Conducting External and Internal Research in AMDSB; External/Internal Research Application Form; Extension, Renewal or Modification Form; Status Report Form

The Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) supports research activities in its schools and departments and is proud and willing to collaborate with both internal and external researchers on various research topics. We appreciate the value these partnerships and experiences bring to our school community while still upholding our priority as a District to every students’ education. As a result, research activities must not compromise or interfere unduly with student learning and access to programming.

1.0 Objective
The purpose of this document is two-fold:
i. To outline the procedures for conducting educational research within the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB); and
ii. To situate within these procedures, key research expectations related to data collection, privacy, and appropriate use of information.

2.0 Definitions

a) Tri-Council Policy Statement 2.0 (TCPS): the most recent version of the Tri-Council Policy 2.0 was developed collaboratively in 2018 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The principles in this document outline the standards for the ethical conduct of research involving humans. All research that is approved and supported by the AMDSB is expected to meet the Tri-Council Policy and uphold the District’s commitment to Indigenous rights and human rights in all of its learning and working environments.

b) External Research: A request is considered to be external research when, (1) The request is from a non-Board employee, or (2) The request is from a Board employee that is collaborating with a non-Board agency.

c) Internal Research: A request is considered to be internal research when:
i. It is a school or classroom project related to local or regional initiatives.
ii. Staff/educator would like to conduct research in their own classroom.
iii. Staff/educator would like to conduct research beyond their own classroom, subject to the approval of the Principal and, when appropriate, other staff.
iv. An employee would like to conduct research in their own area of responsibility subject to the approval of their supervisor.
v. An employee conducting research that meets specific Board needs.

d) Research Application Review Committee (RARC): an AMDSB Committee with representation from various staff positions (e.g., Superintendents, OSSTF, ETFO), that is responsible for reviewing applications to conduct research within the AMDSB. This review process is consistent with article 8.3 of the Tri-Council Policy Statement 2.0 which identifies this established mechanism as a pre-condition to obtaining access.

3.0 Procedure
a) Role of the AMDSB Data and Research Manager:
i. On an annual basis, solicit the participation and recruitment of Research Application Review Committee (RARC) members.
ii. Serve as Chairperson of the RARC.
iii. Compile submitted applications and distribute copies to members for review.
iv. Schedule and call review meetings for the RARC.
v. Serve as the external research applicant’s point of contact for the RARC.
vi. Send messages to the system on approved research.
vii. Contact school administrators to advise them of approved research their community may be invited to participate in.

b) Research Application Review Committee (RARC): on an annual basis, two staff members from various staffing roles will be asked to participate on the committee for the duration of the current school year.
i. Meetings will be held within 3-weeks of receiving an application throughout the school year (September – May). Prior to each meeting, the chair will distribute the applications that will be reviewed at the meeting. Members will be provided sufficient time to adequately review the application(s) and supplemental research material(s).

ii. The role of the RARC is to:
1. Screen external research requests and advise the system of research that has been approved for administration.
2. Monitor the quantity and topics of research to ensure a fair distribution of research studies throughout AMDSB schools.
3. Protect AMDSB schools and their staff and students from invasion of privacy and from unwarranted and excessive demands on their time.
4. Approach schools on behalf of external research applicants that have been approved.

iii. Review of research applications will consider such factors as:
1. Compliance with Tri-Council ethical guidelines.
2. Educational relevance.
3. Alignment with board priorities.
4. Appropriateness of the study for AMDSB staff/students.
5. Cost and/or benefit for students, educators, schools and the District.
6. Amount of staff and/or student time required.
7. Appropriateness of the timing of the request (e.g., exam period, report cards).
8. Conflicts with any ongoing studies or programs.

4.0 External Research Application Process
a) External researchers interested in conducting research within the AMDSB must complete the online “AMDSB External/Internal Research Application Form” which is available on the AMDSB website. All applications that are submitted must:
i. Be complete.
ii. Include all supplemental materials referenced in the application.
iii. Include the Research Ethics Board approval from their organization for the proposed research. Organizations without access to a Research Ethics Board may submit an application without this requirement.

5.0 Internal Research Application Process
a) AMDSB staff interested in conducting research within the AMDSB are requested to complete the online “External/Internal Research Application Form” and submit it to the Chair of the RARC (the AMDSB Data and Research Manager). The purpose of this form is to raise awareness of the extent and nature of the project.

6.0 External and Internal Research Application Review Process: External/Internal Research Application Form submissions are reviewed with the following considerations:
a) Alignment with System Priorities:
i. The research must be worthwhile and have a high degree of educational relevance and be consistent with AMDSB goals.
1. Research projects pertaining to the following areas of focus will be given precedence:
a) Mathematics education at the elementary and secondary level.
b) Student Mental Health and Well-being.
c) Early Years education (Kindergarten to Grade 2) related to literacy and self-regulation.
d) Inquiry based learning environments, including those accelerated by technology and digital resources.
e) Engagement of students who are non-attenders or early leavers.
f) Parent Engagement in relation to student achievement and well-being.
g) Alignment to our Board Improvement Plan (BIPSAW) or other areas that support the work of the board.

ii. It should be a valuable experience for participants considering time lost from other activities.
iii. There must be direct research benefits to the system through, for example, the provision of feedback, workshops, materials and/or summary data.
iv. Marketing research for product development and/or advertisement will not be accepted for review.

b) Adherence to Processes and Guidelines:
i. The researcher(s) must have adequate safeguards to ensure confidentiality of individual participants and schools.
ii. The researcher(s) must ensure that the anonymity of students, educators, and schools is preserved in subsequent publications and must inform and discuss any such publication plans with the Chair of the RARC.
iii. Where appropriate the researcher(s) must obtain parental consent and student permission.
iv. The researcher(s) must explain to participants all features that might be expected to influence their willingness to participate.
v. Research involving staff, students and parents may consider the use of incentives provided that they:
1. Do not negate the voluntary nature of the participant’s consent (see Article 3.1, TCPS 2).
2. Are not contingent upon the number of consent forms returned or the number of participants/participating classrooms at a school
3. Are proposed for a staff member’s own participation in research provided that the participation takes place outside of work hours.

vi. The research methods used should enable valid conclusions to be drawn and should use appropriate data analysis procedures.

c) Equity:
i. The equity of all groups must be ensured. The researcher(s) must ensure that materials used do not reinforce racist, sexist, religious or other stereotypes.
ii. The researcher(s) shall also refer to the Ministry’s Data Standards for the Identification and Monitoring of Systemic Racism for steps to follow for data collection, management and use when preparing to conduct research in the AMDSB.

d) Account for System Context:
i. Research activities must not substantively disturb the work of schools; the amount of time involved should be minimal.
ii. Researcher(s) must minimize stress on the part of participants.
iii. Researcher(s) must take into account the appropriateness of the time of year for data collection. As a general rule, research may not be conducted in schools during the months of May, June or the first half of September.
iv. Researcher(s) should appreciate that their application may be similar to other research that has already been approved or planned. Applications may not be approved where the focus is similar to, or overlapping, other work.

7.0 Outcomes of Research Application Review: Following the RARC review of applications, a letter will be sent by the Chair to the researcher(s) to inform them of the status of their application. Any activities related to a research project may NOT commence without prior review and approval by the RARC.

a) Unapproved Research Applications: An application that has not been approved may be submitted again at a later date. Applications that are re-submitted will be expected to have addressed issues identified by the RARC that contributed to the research not being approved. If those issues or conditions are not addressed in the re-submission, the RARC reserves the right to exclude the research from review.

b) Approved Research Applications: Research applications may receive an “Approval” or “Conditional Approval”. Where conditional approval is provided, the researcher is expected to offer clarification or address concerns raised by the RARC. If the requested clarification or modification is provided to the RARC, the research may then be upgraded to an “Approval”. No research designated as a “Conditional Approval” may proceed until the issues identified by the RARC have been addressed.

Once an application has been approved, the RARC Chair will contact the school principals and/or department managers identified in the application to let them know that the research has been approved and that the researcher(s) will be in contact to invite them to participate in the research. The approval of an application does not mandate participation in the research. All individuals invited to participate in a research project are under no obligation to participate.

For school level projects, Principals have the final decision as to whether their school becomes involved in a research project. Principals who feel that a study is not suitable for their staff, students, and/or parents are under no obligation to participate. For Board and Department level projects, managers will have the final decision as to whether staff will participate in the research project. Managers are under no obligation to take part in any research activities.

8.0 Researcher Responsibilities for Approved Research: Once approved, Researchers are expected to:
a) Gather and handle data and research materials in a manner consistent with the highest standards of ethical and scholarly practice (fraud, falsification of data or other forms of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in immediate revocation of permission to conduct research).
b) Notify the Chair of RARC of the schools/departments involved in the study (if not already mentioned in the application).
c) Notify the Chair of RARC of any changes to the research protocol.
d) Notify the Chair of RARC of any issues that may impact schools, students and staff.
e) Submit a copy of research findings (copies are to be made available to the Chair of RARC and participating schools/staff and parents). Future requests to conduct research at AMDSB will not be reviewed until final reports of completed studies have been received.
 
Revised September 2024