Requests to Conduct Research

Complete application forms and all relevant attachments can be submitted by email to Jamila_maliha@kprdsb.ca (preferred), or regular mail to:

Jamila Maliha
Equity, Diversity and Inclusive Education Mental Health and Research
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
1994 Fisher Drive
Peterborough, ON
K9J 6X6

Applications must be received ten calendar days in advance of a meeting of the KPR Research Advisory Committee in order to be included on a meeting agenda.

Requests and Approvals

Requests received from individuals and/or organizations are reviewed by the Research Advisory Committee to evaluate the relevance of the topic and the design of the study including meeting the standards of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2).

Research Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• Meet or exceed ethics standards of TCPS2 including informed consent and data security;
• Consistency with Board policies, priorities and the Board strategic plan; conform to MFIPPA and other relevant legislation;
• Minimum disruption to schools, schedules and programs; protection of instructional time, and;
• Benefit to students in KPR schools including a clear plan to share study findings with the KPR Research Office in a timely manner (school level results, where possible).

The protection of staff and students is carefully evaluated to ensure appropriate participant information and consent is in place; to determine the clarity of expectations for staff and/or student time; to evaluate potential disruption to school programs and to ensure the proposed study is free from sensitive or offensive items, free from racist, sexist, religious or other bias and that participants are free from mental and physical discomfort or harm. Because informed consent is not a form to be signed, but a process in which the participant has an understanding of the research and its risks, informed consent is essential before data collection and ongoing during participant engagement.

Like other Ontario school boards, every year the number of external research applications received would overwhelm schools if all were approved. Priority is given to those studies and surveys whose results and knowledge dissemination would benefit KPR students. Undergraduate studies are not normally accepted for review.

Committee Decision

Applicants will be sent a communication from the Committee within two weeks of the meeting. If approved, please note that approval of the application's ethics standards and other components is only the first step. The school Superintendent will then decide whether the study is relevant for their school district. Each principal will decide whether the study is appropriate at this time for their school, and each participant will have the option to personally participate in the study or not. In other words, the Research Advisory Committee has the responsibility of initial approval of the ethics standards and practices described in the research application, however external researchers may not approach participants with an invitation to participate until they have the agreement of the Superintendent(s) and Principal(s) involved. Whomever is being asked to participate in the external research study (staff, students and/or parents) then each decide if they wish to participate.

For more information about educational research at KPR, please review our Guidelines for Educational Research in Schools (Please note: the Guidelines are currently under review and will be posted as soon as possible.)