Conduct of Research at Reynolds

Purpose:

To provide guidance to J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College (Reynolds) faculty and staff and external individuals or organizations requesting to conduct research at the college, use college students, faculty, staff, or data in research, or solicit research subjects on college grounds, on college hosted or sponsored social media or instructional sites, or at college-sponsored events. This policy does not apply to institutional research activities conducted by Reynolds.

Definitions:

External researcher: research conducted by external individuals or organizations that would utilize Reynolds students, faculty, staff, or data.

Institutional research: research and assessment activities conducted in support of the college’s mission, Strategic Direction, Institutional Effectiveness Plan, and on-going analytical projects related to courses, programs, services, and units.

Internal researcher: research conducted by Reynolds faculty or staff for personal use, such as research for dissertations, publications, etc., and not for the purpose of institutional research or assessment.

Research assistant: a person who assists the investigator with various aspects of the research, including but not limited to the collection and/or processing of research data.

Subject: a person whose participation (i.e., behavior, attributes, response to stimuli, etc.) is studied as part of the research.

Policy:

Any individual, group, or agency requesting to conduct research at the college, use college students, faculty, staff, or data in research, or solicit research subjects on college grounds or at college-sponsored events, must submit a written proposal to the associate vice president of institutional effectiveness (AVPIE). The proposal must detail the purpose of the study, methodology to be used, manner of obtaining consent from subjects, resources needed, and expected outcomes/benefits of the study. Proposals must also include documentation of approval from the Institutional Research Board (IRB) of the researcher's sponsoring institution/organization, if applicable.

Research requests shall be considered based upon the following conditions:

• Requests shall be reviewed for their impact on institutional research projects, surveys, and assessment activities.

• Requests shall be reviewed for their impact on resources, such as support from the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, the Department of Technology, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, etc.

• Class time shall not be used for any research activities, unless participation in the research is both educationally valuable and a natural part of the course content. If use of class time is requested, the researcher, in consultation with the AVPIE, shall secure the approval of the appropriate faculty member(s) and school dean before proceeding.

• All research shall be conducted to the highest ethical standards. Reynolds students, faculty, and staff voluntarily participating in research must be fully informed as to the purpose of the research, risks and benefits, and what participation shall entail; give their written consent to participate and withdraw; and be free to withdraw from the research at any time.

• Reynolds, its students, faculty, and staff involved as subjects in research shall not be identified when findings are presented or published, unless approved by the AVPIE.

• The researcher agrees to provide documentation of subjects’ consent to the AVPIE upon request.

The researcher agrees to inform the college when the research is complete and to provide a copy of the results of the study.

Procedures:

Other Information:

JSRCC Form 50-0001, Request to Conduct Research at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.

Procedure for Reynolds Policy 4-14, Conduct of Research at Reynolds