The Program Evaluation KnowledgeBase : Element 1 : Activity 1 : Task 4: Legal and Ethical Considerations
These guidelines deal with the ethical considerations involved in conducting survey research with children and young people for both economic and sociological purposes. ESOMAR, originally founded as the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research, is the "world association of research professionals."
This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidebook is designed to help researchers and institutional review board members understands the policies and principles which underlie the regulations and in identifying the issues to which one needs to be sensitive in designing and reviewing research protocols.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law designed to protect the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools receiving funds under any applicable U.S. Department of Education program. School districts should ensure all staff members and interpreters are familiar with the applicable policies on the privacy of student records.
A research activity involves human subjects if the activity is research, as defined in the U.S. Department of Education’s regulations, and the research activity will involve use of human subjects, as defined in the regulations. Such activities must follow the Regulations for the Protection of Human Subjects. When developing a program evaluation, it is important to keep these restrictions in mind.
This link is to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Chief Financial Officer webpage providing information on federal requirements associated with protecting human subjects in research. Educators inquiring as to federal requirements may find this content useful.




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