Rio Hondo College values research and inquiry that advances understanding of student success. On occasion, Rio Hondo College (RHC) receives requests from individuals wishing to conduct research involving Rio Hondo College employees and/or students. In order to ensure that student and employee rights are protected and that the proposed research aligns with the mission, vision, and values of Rio Hondo College, the following guidelines were developed to assist those individuals wishing to conduct external research projects.
The guidelines apply to all external research projects involving RHC. An external research project is defined as any research project or study which is outside of the normal day-to-day operations of the college. Examples of day-to-day operations include program review and assessment of student learning outcomes. A typical example of an external research project is one conducted by a masters or doctoral student who wishes to ask Rio Hondo College students or employees to participate in a study.
Approval Guidelines
- Anyone – employees, students or external persons – who wishes to initiate an external research project needs to obtain permission by first completing the Research Project Approval Form.Research Project Approval Form
- Approval from the External Research Review Committee is required before any research begins.
- As a condition of approval, Rio Hondo College students and/or employees will not be identified when findings are published, nor will the name of the College be identified in any publication, presentation, or other products related to the study.
- As a matter of general practice, the College will not provide facilities of any type for external research projects.
- Unless the College deems a project to be educationally valuable and/or a natural part of course content, class time generally will not be approved for external projects. If class time is deemed educationally valuable or a natural part of course content, then the faculty members’ permission must be obtained prior to any class time being used.
- Participation in any external research project must be voluntary and all participants need to be informed regarding the purpose of the research, the scope of their involvement, and any expected risks or benefits associated with participation.
- The College will not grant permission to use the college email server nor will it provide any contact information or lists of students or employees to those wishing to conduct external research projects.
- Unless the College deems a project to be educationally valuable and/or a natural extension of the college’s daily operations, the College will not release data sets or research products that are not publicly available to be used for secondary data analysis purposes.
- In order to obtain permission from RHC, a written research proposal, External Research Request Form, and copy of the locally approved IRB materials (application, informed consent, instruments, etc.) need to be submitted for review.
- As a condition of approval, a copy of all research findings needs to be submitted to the IE office at the completion of the study.
Campus constituents should forward any external research requests to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness (IE). The Rio Hondo External Research Review Committee (ERRC) will review the application, discuss changes/implications with the requestor, and make a final recommendation on the project. Rio Hondo employees and students as well as external persons wishing to conduct external research projects should be directed to Caroline Durdella, Ph.D., Dean of Institutional Research and Planning.
Source: Sections of the approval guidelines and External Research Request Form were adapted from Citrus College and Mt. SAC.
