Guidelines for Proposals to conduct Educational Research in Boulder Valley School District
Proposals need not follow any particular format but must include adequate information about each of the 16 items listed below. If a proposal has already been written that neglects some areas, a supplemental section may be written and appended to the existing document. Screening of incomplete proposals will be delayed until all required information has been supplied.
Required information to be included:
1. Completed and signed BVSD Request to do Educational Research form
2. Project title, name(s) of the researcher(s) and a 200-word abstract
3. Benefits that the study can provide to the Boulder Valley School District, the field of education, the participating students, teachers and schools
4. Research questions (hypotheses) to be explored in the study
5. Brief summary of related literature and a statement explaining how this study differs from other research efforts
6. Description of the design of the study, including:
- Methods or materials
- Time requirements
- Personnel to be used
7. Description of the study, including:
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Independent (treatment) and dependent (outcome) variables
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Methods of selecting participants and assigning them to groups
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Number of schools, classrooms, students and teachers to be involved
8. Descriptions of all instruments (tests, questionnaires, interview and observation schedules, scales, etc.) to be used, including:
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Time and personnel requirements for administration
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Author(s)
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Scoring procedures
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Reliability
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Validity
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Copies of all instruments
9. Method(s) of data analysis (e.g., statistical procedures)
10. Author and purpose of final report (dissertation, journal article, etc.)
11. Estimate of all costs and the person or institution covering each cost
12. Estimate of disruption of the regular instructional program
13. Methods of ensuring subject anonymity, including a copy of required parent/guardian consent and/or participant assent forms
14. Proposed timeline beginning with the first involvement in the Boulder Valley School District and ending with the anticipated date for submission of the final report (this should indicate who will do what to whom on what dates (e.g., "Month and Year the 6 classroom teachers chosen for the study will administer the Self Concept as a Learner Scale to all students in their classes.")
15. List of any other institutions or individuals sponsoring or otherwise associated with this project (e.g., professional associations)
16. Copy of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, or equivalent, if required