Conducting Research in CMS
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) will allow qualified individuals and organizations to engage in professional research and evaluation projects with the potential to improve learning conditions, student outcomes, and staff or program effectiveness in CMS. This provision applies to individuals or agencies not associated with CMS and to CMS employees conducting research outside the scope of their employment with CMS.
All persons interested in conducting research in CMS must obtain approval from the Office of Accountability in addition to IRB approval from a university or private IRB. The university or private IRB approval must be obtained before submitting a research application to CMS. Research includes, but is not limited to, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations involving CMS students, parents or staff or use of archival CMS data. This generally includes program evaluation. CMS defines program evaluation as an evaluation conducted only for internal use to make programmatic decisions. If you are conducting an evaluation that will be published in whole or in part (including websites, brochures, presentations, etc.) this is considered a research study by CMS, and you must complete the CMS research application process.
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Researchers may go to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools BoardDocs to review the Education Research Policy.
All applications are reviewed according to Federal Regulations governing the protection of human subjects, Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and North Carolina Student Privacy Laws Article 29.
If you are interested in using CMS data in your study, please note that some data is available to the public through national and state websites - see our Resources Page. Please note that all CMS quantitative data not available publicly must be requested through the Office of Accountability; school employees cannot provide data.
We strongly encourage researchers to contact a district level staff member from the appropriate department as you are selecting your research topic. The district level staff can help develop your research questions to align with district priorities so that the study would provide actionable information. Please note this will not ensure your application will be approved but is a crucial first step.
We strongly recommend that researchers review the CMS Research Guidelines research before planning their research study.
To avoid duplicative research, please see the document below of Ongoing and Recently Completed Research Studies. We will likely deny any studies similar to studies on this list. If you would like more information on any of these studies to determine if your study might be duplicative, contact Susie Freije, who will provide a copy of the research questions and proposal summary.
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Procedure for Submitting a Research Application
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Step 1 - Contact district-level staff of relevant department to determine interest in the research topic
If the relevant district-level staff (Executive Director, Director or Specialist) does not support the study as proposed, the study will not be approved. District-level staff may collaborate with researchers to develop a study that will benefit the district. Research must align with current and/or future curriculum plans, strategies, or programs.
As part of the application process, a CMS Executive Director or Director or Specialist from a relevant department must provide a letter of support that indicates their knowledge and support of the research questions, methods, and materials used for the study and how the study will provide actionable information to benefit the district. The applicant will upload the letter of support to the application (Step 4). We request that you contact only one person on the list provided. Please see the items below as you plan your studies:
Due to federal and local regulations (i.e., FERPA and CMS policies) regarding student confidentiality, we limit the number of demographic variables we can share without parental consent to keep the data de-identified. This is because the combination of seemingly de-identified demographic variables may inadvertently identify a single individual.
These guidelines are in place to protect human subjects in research studies. Our highest priority when sharing data is protecting the identity of our students. We understand that this may limit a researcher's ability to conduct analyses based on demographic characteristics. A researcher may obtain informed consent from parents to allow CMS to release more detailed student information.
The following are data variables available from CMS. Files will include only CMS Data. Linking to external data is the responsibility of the researcher.
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Step 2 - Review research request guidelines
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Step 3 - Review the Data Sharing Agreement (DSA)
Ensure that appropriate persons at your university or institution review the Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) template, which includes the terms and conditions to conduct research in CMS and confirm the person's name that will need to sign the DSA. Any requests to edit the DSA will likely be denied except DSAs with state entities modified to align with current state laws. Do not complete the DSA. The DSA will be completed by CMS if your study is approved. If your organization/university will be requesting edits, you will be asked to upload a redlined version of the DSA in your application.
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Step 4 - Complete the application
Use this link to access the form: CMS Research Application
There is a save and continue option at the bottom of each page. When you click "Save" you will have an option to create an account or Skip Create Account. You may choose to skip create account and will receive an email with a unique link to your application with your saved information. Please save the email as we will not be able to provide you the link.
Please note Incomplete/Draft Applications not submitted within 2 months will be automatically deleted by the JotForm platform.
A preview of the application is available here
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Step 5 - Submit application fee
Checks should be made payable to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Send the $50 application fee to:
Ms. Susie Freije
Office of Accountability
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
4421 Stuart Andrew Blvd, Suite 250
Charlotte, NC 28217Questions about the application? Contact Susie Freije.
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About the Research Review Panel
Neither University Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval nor district-level support guarantees approval by the Research Review Panel.
While the University IRB is reviewing the study to ensure human subject protection, the CMS Research Review Panel is reviewing the study for the following:
- Ensure human subjects' protection
- Feasibility
- Alignment with curriculum and Strategic Plan
- Data availability
- Protection of instructional time
- Minimizing the burden on staff, schools, and students
The Research Review Panel will review the study primarily by looking at the following criteria:
High Quality
- Research study follows all the CMS Research Request Guidelines.
- High levels of scientific rigor and technical proficiency are demonstrated in methodology and data analysis plans.
- Alignment between research questions, methodology, and data analysis plan.
- Reliable and valid data collection instruments.
Applicability
- Directly benefits the district (not just the education profession in general).
- Benefits for the district outweigh demands on district and school staff and students as determined by the Research Review Panel.
- Results can be generalized to groups larger than the study sample.
Researchers with questions regarding conducting research in CMS may contact:
Becky Schell, Executive Director of Data Analytics and Research; or
Susie Freije, Accountability Coordinator
