OSPA Research Policy

OSPA RESEARCH POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

All requests to OSPA to conduct research using OSPA resources must meet the following requirements.

  1. The researcher who is making the request must be a OSPA member or be registered in an Oklahoma-approved school psychology program.
  2. The researcher must provide evidence of approval for the project by their Institutional Review Board (IRB).
  3. The research must be deemed likely to make a contribution to OSPA and/or the field of school psychology.
  4. The research must be conducted in accordance with well-established research methods.
  5. The number, timing, method, and content of the research must not conflict with any OSPA-sponsored research, the OSPA Strategic Plan or negatively impact participants.

Procedures for Requesting Access to Research Participants

Submit a written request and all documentation to the current OSPA President.  The request must include the following information.

1. Brief research proposal to include:

  • Title of Investigation.
  • Principal Investigators.  Your name, affiliation, and complete contact information.  Identify the lead researcher and provide his or her affiliation and complete contact information.  If the research is a student thesis or dissertation, provide the name, university affiliation, and complete contact information of the faculty advisor.  Provide the names and affiliations of all other research team members.
  • Brief Description of the Purpose of the Research.
  • Research Questions.  List each question specifically.
  • Methods.  Describe the study methods and state whether the collected data will be anonymous or confidential.  Describe plans to maintain the privacy of participants.
  • Population Sample.  Indicate size and characteristics (e.g. 300 randomly selected regular members).
  • Benefits of the Research.  Briefly describe the benefits to OSPA or to the profession of school psychology.

2.     Documentation of approval by your Institutional Review Board (IRB).

3.     Signed Faculty’s Advisor’s Approval Form.   This form must be signed by the student’s faculty advisor to certify that he or she has read and approved the documents submitted by the student.

Requests will be reviewed and a response given within 90 days of submission of accurately completed documentation.  The request will be approved, denied, or approved pending receipt of revisions.  In the case of a denied request a written explanation will be provided.

Upon approval, researchers will be contacted by OSPA with information regarding how to proceed. 

Published research based on use of OSPA resources should include an acknowledgement of the role of OSPA in making the research possible.

OSPA reserves the right to protect all OSPA resources as well as its members.  Therefore, research requests will be limited to a maximum of 5 per year.  Requests beyond that maximum will be notified of the timeline for their request.

Research Procedures.pdf