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Market Research and Federal Policy on the Protection of Human Subjects
Although the U.S. General Accounting Office found no school-board policies that specifically addressed market-research activities, researchers did find that some districts had more general policies, such as a requirement that the superintendent approve student surveys and questionnaires. Willard (2000) suggests that educators can use federal law for the protection of human subjects of academic research as a benchmark:
Federal Policy on the Protection of Human Subjects. Federal law for the protection of human subjects in the context of academic research can provide schools with guidance on standards that are considered necessary to protect the welfare of research subjects. These rules can provide a benchmark for determining protections that are necessary for the welfare of research subjects, especially children. They require that:
- Academic researchers seeking to gather data from students must demonstrate that their research will have a social benefit.
- Researchers must provide a detailed human subjects protocol that addresses issues of privacy and confidentiality, potential risks to the subjects, and how those risks will be mitigated. The human subjects protocol must be approved by the research institution's Institutional Review Board and then by the individual school district prior to any collection of data from students.
- Researchers must prepare an informed consent document for parents and older children which outlines the socially beneficial purpose of the research and the provisions for the protection of the child. Both the parent and the child must sign the informed consent document.
- Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, does not require a full human subjects protocol or an informed consent document.
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