Conduct Primary Research

Please Note:

Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, the district will only review new and ongoing research projects that have been explicitly flagged as high-priority by school and district leaders. For projects receiving a priority designation, please refer to the following guidance for conducting research during the 2020 - 2021 school year. SY22 Primary Research Guidelines

For projects that have NOT been explicitly flagged as a priority, you are asked to cease all data collection involving our school students, staff, and/or communities for the time being.Any questions regarding research at the district can be directed to research@cps.edu. We please ask for your patience during this time.

Research FAQ

: Chicago Public Schools has several processes in place to help external researchers collect data. The CPS Research Team groups requests for data into two broad categories: primary data and secondary data.

Primary Data: The Research Review Board (RRB) oversees decisions regarding primary data collection (i.e. survey, focus group, or interviews) that takes place inside CPS schools, or leverages CPS resources for any part of the research process.

Secondary Data: If your study and/or evaluation will require secondary administrative data on individuals (CPS staff or student level data) a formal data request request must be submitted through IRBManager. School and District level data can be found publicly on our school data page and the City of Chicago’s Data Portal. Requests for student level data without active parental consent will be denied.

Please see the RRB Guidelines attached at the bottom of this web page for more information on any of the topics discussed.

The Research Review Board (RRB)

The CPS RRB meets quarterly to review external research proposals. RRB approval is required before researchers enter CPS schools and begin study activities. Although RRB approval is necessary to begin, school principals and administrators do have the final decision regarding any study activity; RRB approval does not override the wishes of school leadership and/or staff. The RRB is chaired by representatives from the CPS Research Team and is made up members from various Chicago Public Schools offices. Please do not submit proposals to the RRB if your study and/or request ONLY involves the use of secondary administrative data. Please see the RRB Guidelines for more information on the process and policy outlined below.


: Modifications and Continuing Review
Modifications and continuing review applications are reviewed on a rolling basis; these are not adherent to the dates found on the Research Review Board Calendar. A $50 processing fee is still required for consideration. All modifications and continuing reviews must be submitted through IRBManager.

Re-Submissions
After a decision has been made by the RRB, you will be notified via email and within IRBManager. In some cases, your proposal will be neither approved nor denied, and the RRB will request for more information or further modifications. All issues notified by the RRB must be addressed within IRBManager.
: Currently, the CPS RRB only considers graduate proposals from CPS staff members looking to conduct research to complete a Master’s Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation. CPS staff/graduate students–please familiarize yourself with the RRB Guidelines and External Research Study and Data Policy, which states that you must use independent research subjects in your studies (i.e. you must not have a position of authority over proposed research subjects or have a conflict of interest with proposed research subjects). If you are a school-based staff member, this likely means that you will need to conduct your research outside of your current school building.

External Data Requests for Secondary Administrative Data

A full description of this process can be found within the RRB Guidelines. Our office responds to requests in approximately 30 days. If approved, request fulfillment takes approximately an additional 30 days. In order to submit your request, you must use the Data Request Form within IRBManager. Requests for student-level data without active parental consent will be denied. Requests for de-identified student and/or staff level data will be considered, but please note that these requests are typically denied. To protect our students, CPS chooses to employ a strict definition of what is considered identifiable, as outlined in the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA). The External Data Request process is reserved for use by CPS partners working in collaboration with the district. That can include program providers seeking data for funding continuation or evaluating program implementation, or RRB approved researchers. This form IS NOT to be used by students, undergraduate, graduate or otherwise. If you submit this as a student, solely for the purposes of your education (excluding RRB approved graduate student researchers) the request will be denied.

Research FAQ

The Research Review Board (RRB)

External Data Requests for Secondary Administrative Data

Resources for the RRB and External Data Request