INDIANA UNIVERSITY
BLOOMINGTON CAMPUS COMMITTEE FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS
DOCUMENTATION OF REVIEW AND APPROVAL
of Research Project Utilizing Human Subjects

Protocol # __________________________________

TITLE OF PROJECT   E538 Course Portfolio for Peer Review

PROJECT DURATION - START DATE   January 1, 2001   END DATE  June 30, 2001        

PRIN. INVESTIGATOR   David F. Parkhurst           SCHOOL/DEPARTMENT  SPEA

ADDRESS    SPEA 355     E-MAIL   parkhurs@indiana.edu  PHONE  812-855-4556 

RANK:  Faculty X   Res. Scientist     Post-Doc        Staff         Student: undergrad        masters PhD/EdD     

If PIís rank is OTHER than faculty, name of faculty overseeing the research

(SPONSOR)__________________________________

SPONSOR'S E-MAIL & CAMPUS ADDRESS __________________________________ PHONE _______________

FUNDING AGENCY   None    APPL. DEADLINE __NA_______________

AGENCY PROJECT #    NA     New             Continuation            

As the principal investigator, my signature testifies that I pledge to conform to the following:

As one engaged in investigation utilizing human subjects, I acknowledge the rights and welfare of the human subject involved.

I acknowledge my responsibility as an investigator to secure the informed consent of the subject by explaining the procedures, in so far as possible, and by describing the risks as weighed against the potential benefits of the investigation.

I assure the Committee that all procedures performed under the project will be conducted in accordance with those Federal regulations and University policies which govern research involving human subjects.  Any deviation from the project (e.g., change in principal investigator, research methodology, subject recruitment procedures, etc.) will be submitted to the Committee in the form of an amendment for its approval prior to implementation.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:

As the faculty sponsor, my signature testifies that I have reviewed this application and that I will oversee the research in its entirety.

FACULTY SPONSOR:

*********************************************

CAMPUS LEVEL REVIEW

This protocol for the use of human subjects has been reviewed and approved by the Indiana

University/Bloomington Campus Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects.

          Exempt Review �#          ,            Exempt �#            with signed / documentation of consent,

           Expedited Review,            Full Review,            Not Approved,               Withdrawn

logged in ts _____________ approval logged ____________ copy to PI ___________ notice to agency ________________

BLOOMINGTON CAMPUS COMMITTEE for the PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS
EXEMPT RESEARCH STATEMENT

A.  Provide a brief description, in lay terms, of the purpose of the proposed study and the procedures to be used. If interviewing, will you tape? What happens to the tapes at the end of the study? If they are to be kept, how long? If student research, indicate whether for a course, a thesis, dissertation, or independent research. If the study is only for a course, please review the Student Research Policy to ascertain if this project requires HSC review.

Indiana University is one of seven universities participating in a Peer Review Project that is coordinated by a researcher at the University of Nebraska, and sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation and the Pew Memorial Trusts. The project seeks to find ways to document quality of university teaching, so that it can be peer-reviewed and thus play a larger role in promotion and tenure decisions. A major candidate to allow this is the production of “course portfolios,” in which a professor describes the goals, teaching methods, and teaching philosophies for a specific course, and documents what students have learned in the course. Research into factors correlated with that learning may also be included if available.

The present study will provide data to serve as a basis for my writing a course portfolio for E538, my course in Statistics for Environmental Science. This is a required core course for students in SPEA’s Master of Science in Environmental Science degree program, and it is often taken by a few graduate students from Biology, Geology, and other departments as well. This portfolio is intended to be reviewed (in a exploratory mode) by colleagues at other universities, and may be presented at Peer Review Project meetings. 

The primary aspect of the study will be to give those students who agree to participate a pre-test at the start of the semester, and the same (or a very similar) test at the end of the semester to measure what students have learned during the term. I also plan to use the pre-test to inform me of which areas to emphasize in my teaching, and whether there are any I could skip.

Other aspects of the study are described fully in the accompanying consent form. Briefly, they include my hope to use examples of answers from regular course exams to illustrate in my portfolio what the students have learned, and to obtain data on GRE scores, undergraduate GPA, and prior grades in particular courses like math and statistics, with an intent to search for correlations with other data obtained in the study.

I attach examples of the types of questions—all are about statistical methods and interpretation—that I will ask on the pre-test and post-test.

B. Explain how subjects will be recruited/selected (see item F on page 2), how many (or estimate) will be involved, and any benefits to the subjects. In the event of monetary gain, include all payment arrangements. If merchandise or service is given, indicate the value. If class credit will be given, list the amount and the value as it relates to the total points needed for an A. Describe other ways to earn the same amount. Tell how much payment/credit will be given if the subject withdraws prior to completion of the study. If minors are used, indicate the approximate age range. If only using male or female subjects, explain why. Disclose any relationship between researcher and subjects, such as: teacher/student; superintendent/principal/teacher; employer/employee. (See Students as Subjects section in the Policy Manual.) For use of existing data, provide the number of records to be used.

In Spring 2001, I will be teaching two sections of E538, with an expected total enrollment of about 40‚50 students. All students will be asked equally to participate; all will have the option to decline, as outlined in Section C. There will be no financial or other rewards for participation, and no penalties of any sort for non-participation. 

As noted in the consent form, and above, I will be asking students for permission to obtain admissions information on GREís and undergraduate grades, so I can look for correlations of those data with the information obtained from the present study. As can be seen near the bottom of the consent form, students can opt in or out of this request independently of their participation in the other two aspects of the study. I will not know which students have provided any of the permissions until all course grades have been submitted at the end of the semester.

Students taking the post-test on the last regular day of class will likely benefit, as that test should serve as useful review for the final exam.

C. Where will this study be conducted? If done during regular class time, what will non-participants do? How much time will be required of the subjects? If using questionnaires, how will they be distributed and collected?  Describe methods for preserving confidentiality. How will data be recorded and stored, with or without identifiers? If identifiers are used describe the type: names, job titles, number code, etc. How long are the identifiers kept? If coding system is used, is there a link back to the subject’s ID? If yes, where is the code list stored in relation to data, and when is the code list destroyed? How will reports be written, in aggregate terms or will individual responses be described? Will subjects be identified in reports (see item 5 on page 10)? For use of existing data tell whether identifiers are still attached to the data.

I will be asking faculty (or staff) colleagues to present the consent forms and the pre- and post-tests to the students during regular class periods on the first (pre-test) and last (post-test) days of class. Those who choose not to participate will be free to leave on those days, or to sit in the class and do other work. These tests will be fairly long, and may take some participants most of the 75-minute periods to complete.

Each test form will have a code number on it, and that code number will also appear on the consent form. The colleagues administering these items will retain the consent forms until after final course grades have been submitted to the registrar, but will return the coded tests to me—thus, I will not be able to associate the tests with individuals until after the semester is over and grades have been submitted.

In reports and summaries of the study, I may include individual responses (from the tests, and from regular course exams—when I have student permission), but no individuals will be identified, and I see no way in which others could identify any individual participants from the reports I will write or present.

I expect to retain all data that I have student permission to use for a year or two after the study, until data analysis and reporting are complete.

D. Co-investigators, not listed or signing on page 3, are to be listed here and should sign here, pledging to conform to the statements on page 3.

I am the sole investigator for this study.