Tips/Questions to Consider When Conducting Classroom Research

& Applying for Internal Review Board (IRB) Approval

By
Vanessa Armand & Sara Van Dan Acker
Tokyo International University
All US academic institutions, and many international ones, are required by law to train and
monitor any staff involved in conducting research to ensure that ethical standards are being
followed in the research methods used on human and animal subjects. As such, researchers
or other professionals engaged in research are required to submit their research plan to the
institutions Internal Review Board (IRB)which checks the plan for any violations of
research ethics, including breaches of safety procedures, subject confidentiality, and
informed consentfor approval before beginning their research.
These tips are a guide to follow when writing up for IRB approval a classroom
research plan in which human participants (e.g. students, teachers or staff) are used.
!! DISCLAIMER !!
Answering these questions does not guarantee the approval of your application.

Regarding components of the document:

Abstract of your study: Include the motivation for your research, any background
information needed to understand it, and your research question. You will likely
include some fundamental references that informed your purpose and methods.
Basic design: Outline the methods you will use. Will your research use qualitative,
quantitative, or mixed methods approaches? See Creswell (2003) for descriptions
and thorough explanations of these. *Note, many classroom research projects in will
likely be qualitative.
Methods: Explain the steps and materials you will use to collect your data. Will you
use interviews, panel discussions, corpus data, text, surveys/questionnaires, or
other?
Benefits to the community: How/Why this will benefit the field and/or members of
your institution? Of your field?

Regarding participants:
Number (approximately how many? A range is acceptable here)
Approx. age
Year in school
Armand and Van Dan Acker (2015)

Proficiency level
Course &/or program that the students are participating in
Prior exposure to English (or to the topic of research)
Amount of time spent on activities as part of research
Length of total time allotted for research project completion
Regarding research materials:
Submit any questionnaires/surveys as appendices to your Ethical Judgment form.
Label those appendices Appendix 1, Appendix 2, and so on and write about them
in the judgment form in the order they will appear at the back of your form - for
example: The pre-survey used on the first day of class will encompass(see
Appendix 1).
Did you write the survey yourself or are you using a survey that you have adapted?
(If adapted, give bibliographic information for the original and state how/why it was
adapted for your purposes).
When will the questionnaire be administered? Be specific. Give rationale.
If the questionnaire will be administered more than once (e.g. pre- and post-activity;
e.g. beginning and end of term), will the questions be the same? If not, how will they
be different and why? If different, submit these questions separately and label
accordingly.

Regarding key words/phrases:

If you are using terms to which you have given new meaning or which you are using
in a non-conventional way, define these terms.
Avoid jargon that is specific to your field. The reviewers may come from a variety of
different disciplines. If necessary, define the term and provide references.
If you are using a tool (e.g. English Central, Google Drive), it may also be unknown to
the reviewer. Define it and include a web link.
Regarding transparency & consent:
How will students be introduced to/informed about the study? Be careful to be
transparent, but also to not expose elements of your research that might lead
participants to act in a way that would skew your data (Search Hawthorne Effect for
more information).
Students must not be required to participate in your research - this is crucial. Make
this apparent in your application.
Students must be informed of their right to decline participation in the research by
giving them a written consent form.

Armand and Van Dan Acker (2015)

 Be aware of the power dynamic between you and the research study participant. If
the participant feels at all pressured to participate as a result of the power dynamic
the ethical validity of the study can be compromised.
How will their consent to participate be recorded? (Wording should be appropriate
for the proficiency level of the participants, or, if participants are low-level learners,
the consent form should be in their native language to guarantee informed consent).
Make sure to state that you will give a copy of the consent form to them to keep and
they may withdraw from the study at any time. You should also note that their grade
is not connected to the study.
Participants should be given an opportunity to ask questions for clarification before
signing the form.
Consent form(s) should be attached as appendices to your application.

Regarding record keeping:

Anonymity: How will participants anonymity be protected? (i.e. removal of names
and ID numbers from the data; use of pseudonyms or assigned numbers; data stored
in a password-protected file or locked box/file cabinet only accessible by the
researcher)
How will you guarantee that your data are only seen by you? (i.e. keep it in a
password-protected file folder on your computer; keep it in a locked box/file
cabinet to which only you have the key)
If giving a paper survey or other paper materials which are not returned to students
as part of the activity/learning goals, how will you dispose of the paper materials
after recording data (so that privacy is not violated)?
*Key wording: There is no risk to humans through this research.

Regarding future use of data/findings:

In what form will the data be used upon completion of the project? (I.e. conference
presentation, internal GTI presentation, publication, personal self-evaluation)
References
Croswell, J. (2003). Research Design: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methods
Approaches, 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications.
Recommended Reading
Greenwald, R. A., Ryan, M. K., & Mulvihill, J. E. (Eds.) (1982). Human subjects research: A
handbook for institutional review boards. New York: Plenum Press.
Seiber, J. E. (1992). Planning ethically responsible research: A guide for students and
internal review boards. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Armand and Van Dan Acker (2015)

Armand and Van Dan Acker (2015)