Guidelines for Requesting to Conduct Research in the
Muscogee County School District

If anyone wishes to conduct research with students, staff or use data from the Muscogee County school District, the researcher must apply for approval from the Superintendent. This procedure includes

  • students from this system
  • students from another system
  • undergraduate or graduate college students
  • teachers from this system or another system
  • administrators
  • professors from colleges or universities
  • anyone not covered in this description who wishes to collect data.
A Letter of Request must be submitted to the research office addressing the items on the guidelines page. The request will be reviewed by the research department and a recommendation to accept or reject the research project will be made to the Superintendent for his final decision. A letter will be sent to the applicant advising him or her of his decision. The researcher should include written confirmation that the building administrator (usually the school principal) approves. 

Projects using data that are in the public record are not subject to this process. For instance, test scores that are posted on the Internet can be used for projects without permission from the Research Office. However, individual scores that are maintained by the Muscogee County School System are not exempt from this process. 

Principals should be aware of school projects required for programs such as Science Fairs or Social Studies Fairs. He or she should be the person who guides the student through the application process. 

The purpose of this requirement for research is to protect the students, faculty and administration. General guidelines include: 

    Minors cannot be used as research subjects without written parental consent. 

    There are laws that protect the privacy of students and their grades. 

    Sensitive topics such as use of drugs, sexual activity or sexual preference are less likely to be approved 

    Any research that is too time consuming for the students or school personnel will not be accepted. 

    Research that involves only questionnaires to teachers, principals or administrators will be judged more leniently, and the respondents will be advised that their participation is voluntary. 

  • Projects that infringe on instructional time will generally not be approved.
Go to Guidelines
Research and Evaluation

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