Even though you already have access to your study participants and a lot of other information about them, such as their grades, your access has been granted as a teacher and not as a researcher.

When conducting an action research project you have an ethical obligation to inform others about your project. Specifically it is important to notify the following people:

• Your supervisor(s) should know about the project from you rather than find out about it from someone else. They can inform you of any school or organization policies that may impact your study. Sometimes it is necessary to request permission from the school in advance of conducting the study.
• Your students have a right to know if you are collecting data from and about them. They also have the right to refuse to participate in the research without any ill effects on their status as a student.
• Your students’ parents, if they are under age 18.
• Any other people who participate in the environment being studied.

You will want to secure written permission from your participants and keep their permission on file. Particularly if you plan to publish your findings (and you may not think you do right now, but could change your mind later), it will be important to do so with everyone’s approval.

If you work at a college or university, your institution likely has an Institutions Review Board or Human Subjects Committee who approves research projects with human participants. You should check with them for guidance on permissions and informed consent before proceeding with any type of research project that you hope to publish. For the sake of our class exercises, you should not need to gain such permissions.