Apply for The Institutional Review Board (IRB) For My Thesis Program Improvement - Essay Example

A. REVIEW TYPE: Exempt B. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: (s) Department Affiliation Faculty, Staff, Other) Mailing Address Telephone Number Email AddressNIH Training Certificate Number(Please also attach electronic copy)C. FACULTY SPONSOR:Not ApplicableFaculty Sponsor’s NameDepartmentPhoneEmail AddressD. TITLE OF PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT:Program ImprovementE. CATEGORY OF RESEARCH:Master’s Thesis, Honors Thesis, or Capstone ProjectF. BACKGROUND, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, AND METHODOLOGY:(1) Background The state has been noting the annual student achievement targets in order to determine whether learning institutions have been making adequate progress.

In California, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act stipulates that all the Title funded local educational agencies (LEAs) and learning institutions that do not attain adequate yearly progress (AYP) are usually identified for program improvement. PI is the formal designation for Title I-funded learning institutions and LEAs which fail to make AYP for two consecutive years. Annually, local educational agencies are responsible for implementing specific federal and state requirements that they are in Program Improvement (PI) status.

When in PI, LEAs and schools are responsible for implementing specific state and federal needs annually. This usually varies basing on the PI year and if the entity is a LEA or a school. A statewide system of intensive and sustained support have been shown to help LEAs with PI schools and PI LEAs to enhance the opportunity for all students in those schools and agencies to adequately meet their academic standards.The underperforming districts and schools require policy and programmatic coherence so as to effectively address the diverse needs of the students.

To assist create this coherence, some of tools developed by the state include: district assistance survey, academic program survey and the inventory of services and supports for students with disabilities. In the previous years, determining schools for program improvement was different basing on the kind of improvement program the school was operating. (2) Research objectives: describe what you hope to accomplish with this study and list the research question(s);i. To determine if the program improvement improves student achievementii.

To establish how program improvement can be used to determine funding.iii. To find out the program’s relevance and delivery. iv. To identify activities or approaches that significantly improves a school’s ability to improve academic standards. (3) Methods: The study will utilize a quantitative research methodology with a descriptive design to examine. It was used due to the fact the research was aimed at answering the question like ‘what is,” ‘how’ and ‘what was’. The methods used to gather information included open-ended questions, observation, key informant interviews, collection tools, personal interviews, the use of surveys, filling of questionnaires, use of focus groups, and examination of documents.

With regard to sampling, the research study will employ the random sampling technique.G. PROPOSED RISK:G1. In your opinion, does the research involve more than minimal risk to participants? YesNoG2. Are any emergencies or adverse reactions (physical, psychological, social, legal, or emotional) foreseeable as a result of the research?YesNoG3. Is there any conflict of interest or dual role that needs to be explained?NO, the threat of disciplinary action and a code of ethics will assist minimize unacceptable conflicts.H. PROTECTING AGAINST OR MINIMIZNG RISK:If yes to the above question, indicate the form the risk(s) will take, a justification for its necessity, and the procedures you will take to ensure the protection of participants.N/AI. HUMAN SUBJECTS CHARACTERISTICS:GenderNumberAge RangeMale1814-57Female1415-55J.

VULNERABLE POPULATIONS:Vulnerable populations include minors, elderly, physically or mentally disabled, economically or educationally disadvantaged, victims, institutionalized people, or those who can easily be victimized. Will any vulnerable populations be included in your study?YesNoIf so, please explain the population and describe how they will be protected.The population would include physically disabled such as those with hearing who will have translators and hearing aids provided to them.K. OTHER HUMAN SUBJECTS CHARACTERISTICS:Describe any other characteristic common to your potential human subjects population or research question.

Age: for the respondents who are considered underage they would be accompanied with their guardians during interviews.L. RECRUITING SOURCES:Participants will be sourced from school sites.M. RECRUITMENT PROCESS:1) Strips of paper would be made and names of places where the respondents will be sampled.2) Basing on gender, grade and age the participants will then be picked.3) Other respondents would be picked by their school’s staff.4) The respondents will be interviewed basing on their knowledge area on program improvement.5) Advertisements will be made for voluntary respondents.6) The population sampled will include school staff (particularly those responsible for developing and administering the improvement program), board members, students, funders, and community colleagues with expertise in program’s content area.7) For the professional participants such as school permission will be sought from their employer.N. INFORMED CONSENT:Participants will be informed in a letter of the nature and the reason for the study.

The letter will also inform, that participation is voluntary and they have the right to withdraw from the study at any time. Before the interview start, participants will be informed that they are not compelled to take part in the research and might terminate their participation at any time during the interview.O. DEBRIEFING PROCEDURE:O1. Will any deception be used in your study and/or in its description to participants?YesNoO2. Will the results of the study be shared with the participants?

YesNoO3. Describe the process that will ensure that participants have access to the researcher(s) to ask questions about all and any aspect of the research project. Participants will be allowed to ask the reason for the study. From the informed consent letter, the respondents would choose whether to participate voluntarily or withdraw from the study at any time. Before the interview start, the participants will be informed if they to take part in the research or terminate their participation at any time during the interview.P. PROCEDURES FOR ENSURING CONFIDENTIALITY:With regard to confidentiality and privacy, the researcher will inform participants that their responses to questions are strictly private and confidential and would not be discuss with anyone else.

The researcher will also inform the participants that their anonymity is guaranteed, by referring to them to as number and not indicate their names.Q. ANALYSIS OF RISK/BENEFIT RATIOOne benefit is that by talking about or reflecting on an experience may lead to a better comprehension of oneself. The participants will also gain knowledge on program improvement. They would also interact with the researcher and ask questions which they feel the researcher has knowledge about. They would also create a rapport among themselves and the researcher.

The participants would also use information from the study to improve their academic performance.The risks include; emotional risks such as feelings of anxiety; social or economic risks such as loss of confidentiality; legal risks such as the probability of discovering activities that may require reporting to authorities; physical risks such as infection and discomfort; another risk is that the participants might withdraw from the study any time; and finally, loss of time.The risks would be minimized via an ethical code of conduct which will be followed.R. HAZARDOUS MATERIALSWill drugs or hazardous substances be used as a part of this study?YesNoS. PROJECT MATERIALSAttach as appendices copies of all materials (e.g., surveys, observation protocols) used in this study and information about the sources of these instruments (e.g., who developed the instruments, reference for where additional information about the instrument’s reliability and validity can be found, etc.). List all appendices by both label and title (e.g., Appendix A Interview Protocol).T. CERTIFICATION FOR RESEARCH OR TEACHINGI certify that to the best of my knowledge the information provided above is complete and accurate.

I agree to obtain approval from the IRB for any modifications of the above protocol as described.I accept responsibility for ensuring that the rights, welfare, and dignity of the participants in this study have been protected and are in accordance with applicable federal/state laws and regulations and the University’s Institutional Guidelines for the Treatment of Human Participants in Research (see Procedures for Obtaining Institutional Approval for Research, available at http://www.callutheran.edu/irb/). I certify that this research or instruction does not unnecessarily duplicate research already published or previous student instruction.

I ensure that all personnel conducting the work of this protocol have or will receive appropriate training in the use of human participants in experimentation.I accept responsibility for submitting a Continuing Review form, if the study continues longer than one year from the date of approval, and/or a Final Report form, at the completion of the study.Signature_______________________________________ Date_______________ (Principal Investigator)Signature_______________________________________ Date_______________ (Faculty Sponsor, if different from above)CLU IRB CHECKLISTI HAVE REVIEWED THE INSTRUCTIONSI HAVE PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING:REVIEW TYPEPRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR×FACULTY SPONSOR (If applicable)TITLE OF PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECTCATEGORY OF RESEARCHBACKGROUND, RESEARCH OBJECTIVES, AND METHODOLOGYPROPOSED RISKPROTECTING AGAINST OR MINIMIZNG RISKHUMAN SUBJECTS CHARACTERISTICSVULNERABLE POPULATIONSOTHER HUMAN SUBJECTS CHARACTERISTICSRECRUITING SOURCESRECRUITMENT PROCESSINFORMED CONSENTDEBRIEFING PROCEDUREPROCEDURES FOR ENSURING CONFIDENTIALITYANALYSIS OF RISK/BENEFIT RATIO×HAZARDOUS MATERIALSPROJECT MATERIALSCERTIFICATION FOR RESEARCH OR TEACHINGAPPENDICES