Academic Programs Overview | Course Work | Supervised Fieldwork and Advisement | Integrative Master's Project
Download the Guide to the Integrative Master's Project or pick up a copy in the Graduate Suite (Room 603).
Does your study involve human participants?
In conducting research involving human participants, students have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure that the rights of those participants are protected. Research is expected to be of service, to do no harm, and to protect the participants and community from foreseeable risks in settings in which data are collected. Participation in research is always voluntary. Since Independent Studies and Portfolios are housed in the Bank Street Library where they may be read and borrowed by those within and beyond the Bank Street community, it is essential that the privacy of research participants is protected.
Doing research that involves human participants holds great promise for students. Through systematic and deliberate inquiry, it is anticipated that students will both broaden and deepen their understanding of some aspect of education in which they are keenly interested, and discover ways of strengthening their practice. Researchers, and by extension students in the Graduate School, are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and to provide assurance that they will not exploit their participants. Because the Independent Study and the Portfolio become public documents in the Library, cases in which human participants are involved in such research necessarily entail obtaining the informed consent of the participants.
In compliance with federal regulations, the College has an Institutional Research Review Board (IRRB) to ensure that human participants involved in research projects at the College are protected from harm, that research is of service to participants, and that the participants and community are protected from foreseeable risks in those settings in which data are collected. We believe that respect for individuals is a core value of education professionals; to this end we strongly encourage students and mentors to discuss ethical matters concerning their research projects both with each other and the prospective participants. To have a meaningful discussion, the student and mentor are strongly urged to carefully read Bank Street College's IRRB Guidelines for the Protection of Human Participants.
Student-initiated research projects involving human participants at Bank Street are reviewed by the IMP Committee, and assistance is provided to students to ensure that human participants will be respected and their identity protected. In rare instances, if the IMP Committee is not fully satisfied that human rights are sufficiently protected, a full review before the Institutional Research Review Board may be necessary. In such cases, the mentor will work with the student, in collaboration with the chairs of the Integrative Master's Project Committee, to prepare for the full review.
Which form do you use to commence your independent study?