Conducting Research in Portland Public Schools

Thank you for your interest in conducting research in Portland Public Schools (PPS). This page provides information for external researchers, partners, and PPS employees about conducting research, administering surveys, conducting interviews or focus groups, or other data collection activities in PPS. This page also includes information for PPS staff seeking support for internal research activities (e.g., surveys).

Process and Requirements for Research or Data Collection

Please note that at this time we are not accepting external research proposals. When and if this changes, the information will be reflected here. For PPS staff interested in initiating internal research proposals, please see below for the process. Thank you for your interest.

At PPS, when capacity exists, we welcome proposals from researchers who wish to conduct studies in the district, particularly when the studies are of high importance to PPS or the field of education. Due to the large number of requests for cooperation in optional research studies, in 2002 the PPS Board of Directors approved Administrative Directive 3.30.033-AD, which established the Research Review Committee and a formal proposal process for any research studies or data collection activities conducted in the district.

In order to support researchers with developing proposals to conduct research, the Research Review Committee developed a Research Proposal Guide that details the process of submitting a proposal to conduct research in the district. Please download a copy of the Guide from this site prior to preparing a proposal, to ensure you are using the latest version. A link to the Intake Form is included in the Research Proposal Guide.

Timeline for Submitting Proposals

The Research Review Committee convenes three times a year to review and make determinations on proposals. Proposals submitted after the deadline will be reviewed in the next Committee meeting. 

* Proposals received after May 1 will be reviewed the following October 

For PPS Employees

PPS employees conducting research to complete coursework or degree requirements are subject to the research proposal requirements as stated above. If a project is not directly related to your job duties, you are considered an External Researcher. 

Internal Survey Administration at PPS

If you are a PPS employee, contact research@pps.net if you need to conduct a survey that includes one or more of these criteria:

• Includes survey questions of a potentially sensitive nature;
• Involves respondents outside your assigned school or department;
• Requires participation;
• Will be reported publicly (e.g., published on a school website, higher education classroom presentation, academic conferences, etc.); or
• Will be used to complete coursework or degree requirements.

At this time, the Research and Evaluation Team will no longer be available to design and administer surveys for internal teams at PPS. However, members of the R&E team are available to provide feedback on survey design and analysis. Internal teams should email research@pps.net for more information.

Focus Groups, Interviews, or other Qualitative Research Activities

PPS employees can contact research@pps.net for support with qualitative research activities like focus groups and interviews.

Data Requests

PPS employees requesting data can submit a request to support@pps.net.

Contracts and Data Sharing Agreements

For information regarding Data Sharing Agreements (DSAs), email research@pps.net. Please expect the DSA process to take 4-6 weeks.

Contact information

research@pps.net