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Conducting Research in CMS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) will allow qualified individuals and organizations to engage in professional research and evaluation projects with 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 CMS Office of Accountability in addition to IRB approval from a university or private IRB. The university or private IRB approval must be obtained prior to 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 for the purposes of making 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.
 
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 are available to the public through national and state websites. Please note that all CMS quantitative data not available publicly must be requested through the Office of Accountability; data cannot be provided by school employees.
 
We strongly recommend that researchers review the CMS Research Request Guidelines prior to planning their research study.





In order to avoid duplicative research, please see the document below of Ongoing and Recently Completed Research Studies. We will likely deny any studies that are 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 please contact Susie Freije susanw.freije@cms.k12.nc.us who will provide a copy of the research questions and proposal summary.



PLEASE NOTE:
Researchers who would be collecting data during first semester 2022-23 must submit an application by July 5, 2022.
Researchers who would be collecting data during second semester 2022-23 must submit an application by November 7, 2022.
 

Procedure for Submitting A Research Application


Step 1

Contact District Level Staff (Executive Director or Director or Specialist) of relevant department to determine interest in research topic. If the relevant district level staff do not support the study as proposed, the study will not be approved. District level staff may collaborate with researcher to develop a study that will be beneficial to the district. Research must align with current and/or future curriculum plans, strategies, or programs. To complete an application, a CMS Executive Director or Director or Specialist from a relevant department must provide documentation of support that that clearly indicates their knowledge and support of the research questions, methods, materials that will be used for the study, and indicates how the study will provide actionable information to benefit the district. We request that you contact only one person on the list provided. Please see the items below as you plan your study:



Due to federal and local regulations (i.e., FERPA and CMS policies) regarding student confidentiality, we limit the number of demographic variables that we can share without parental consent in order to keep the data de-identified. This is because the combination of seemingly de-identified demographic variables may inadvertently identify a single individual.  This guideline is in place for the protection of 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 decide to obtain informed consent for 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.:

Student Level Variable List_October 2019 pdf.pdf

Step 2

Read CMS Research Request Guidelines  and Additional Research Guidelines for 2021-22 to ensure that your proposed study meets all requirements to conduct research in CMS. 


Step 3

Review template for Data Sharing Agreement which includes the Terms and Conditions to conduct research in CMS. Please be sure the appropriate persons at your university or institution review the DSA and confirm the name of the person that will need to sign the Data Sharing Agreement. Any requests to edit the Data Sharing Agreement will likely be denied with the exception of Data Sharing Agreements with state entities which will be modified to align with current state laws.

Step 4

Complete the Application to Conduct Research in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. You will complete a registration form (see link below), then receive an email with a unique link to your application from JotForm. This link is unique to your application and will allow you to save and return to your application. Please save the email as it is the only copy of your unique link. Please note that the program will only save pages where all required items have something entered after clicking on the NEXT button. You may use a placeholder for incomplete required questions and complete the required questions when you return to the application.

Step 5

Send the $50 application fee to the attention of Ms. Susie Freije: Office of Accountability, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, 4421 Stuart Andrew Blvd, Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28217.  Checks should be made out to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Questions about the application? Contact Susie Freije susanw.freije@cms.k12.nc.us

Neither University IRB approval nor district level support guarantees approval by the Research Review Panel. While the University IRB is reviewing the study to ensure human subjects protections, the CMS Research Review Panel is reviewing the study for the following:
  • to ensure human subjects protections
  • 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 study primarily looking at the following criteria:

High Quality
  • Research study follows all the CMS Research Request Guidelines.
  • High level of scientific rigor and technical proficiency demonstrated in methodology and data analysis plan
  • Alignment between research questions, methodology, and data analysis plan
  • Reliable and valid data collection instruments
Applicability
  • Directly benefits the district (not just 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 group larger than study sample.
Researchers may contact Lindsay Messinger, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Analytics lindsay1.messinger@cms.k12.nc.us or Susie Freije, Accountability Coordinator, susanw.freije@cms.k12.nc.us with questions regarding conducting research in CMS.

Application Review Calendar

The Research Review Panel meets once a month to review applications. Please see the calendar below for review dates and deadlines to submit applications and supporting documents:

Research Review Panel MeetingsAll materials submitted by (close of business)
Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Monday, August 1, 2022
Wednesday September 14, 2022
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Monday, October 3, 2022
Wednesday,  November 16, 2022
Monday, November 7, 2022
Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Monday, December 5, 2022
Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Monday, January 2, 2023
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Monday, February 6, 2023
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Monday, March 6, 2023
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Monday, April 3, 2023
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
Monday, May 1 , 2023
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Monday, June 5, 2023
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Monday, July 3, 2023
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Monday, August 7, 2023

​If you have any questions, please contact Lindsay Messinger, Director of Research, Evaluation, and Analytics at lindsay1.messinger@cms.k12.nc.us.

CMS will not allow researchers to administer surveys during the following blackout times during the 2021-2022 school year

Student Surveys
  • February 1-28
Staff Surveys
  • April 1-30 (teachers and principals)

CMS will not allow researchers to administer assessments during the following blackout times during the 2021-22 school year
  • March 1-9 (grades 3-8)
  • May  2-5 (grades 3-8)
  • May 2-13 (high school students)
  • May 16-20 (Early College and Middle College students)
  • June 1-8 (all grades)
P.O. Box 30035
Charlotte, NC 28230-0035
Phone: 980-343-3000
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