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ELI Research Requests

The ELI welcomes research in our program if it meshes with our program goals and does not interfere with our operations or our primary mission. Feel free to reach out to the ELI Director (faucette@hawaii.edu) early if you are hoping to conduct research in the ELI. In general, there are two types of research done in the ELI:
1.) Research in ELI classes & 2.) Soliciting student volunteers for research purposes. If you would like to do research on our placement test, schedule an appointment with the ELI Director.

These are the recommended steps for both types of research. Please consider that this entire process takes time. Please start early and loop in the ELI Director early if you wish for your research to go smoothly. 

*Important Timing*- If you wish to conduct research or recruit participants in a given semester, your ELI research request must be discussed with the ELI Director and approved during the preceding semester. For example, if you wish to conduct research in the spring semester, your project should be approved by the completion of the fall semester. The ELI Director does have some availability during the summer when planning for fall semester research. Due to ELI program demands, no research requests can be reviewed during Weeks 0-3 of the semester.

  1. Please refer to the ELI research agenda, a list of topics that the ELI staff has prioritized. To some degree we can assist with other research topics, but we will give priority to research on our own program needs and concerns.
  2. Discuss the details of your study with your advising professor to make sure that your research is well designed. They are the experts on research.
  3. Meet with the ELI Director as early as possible to discuss practical, logistical matters related to the ELI. You do not need IRB approval at this stage. Please note: Video and audio recordings are often potentially the most problematic.
  4. Develop a research request for the ELI’s purposes which describes the topic and how you want to do the research. Please refer to this checklist. You do not need IRB approval before submitting the proposal. Consider how your project could contribute to the ELI in some manner. You may also informally approach ELI teachers with your idea. Submit your request to the ELI Director as a google doc following the checklist. She will provide you feedback, and you may need to make revisions. You can not proceed with your research until the ELI Director has approved it.
  5. At any point appropriate or as recommended by your SLS advisor, seek IRB approval. Include the ELI approval in your IRB application. Once you have received IRB approval, notify the ELI Director.
  6. Once the ELI Director has approved your study and you have received IRB approval, obtain final approval of any ELI teacher you hope to involve in your study.  Please note: Even if the ELI administration approves a project, individual teachers may decline to participate or to have their class participate in a study if they feel it interferes with instruction or the aims of the course.
  7. Once your project is approved, the ELI Director will announce it to ELI teachers and you may begin data collection.

Policies related to writing your paper

  1. Read previous studies of research done in the ELI. See ScholarSpace
  2. Check the current UH-Manoa catalog, ELI website or other relevant sources for up-to-date factual information about policies, courses, etc. related to the ELI.
  3. Double-check all “facts” about the ELI with the Director before you finish and submit your paper.
  4. If your research will be done in specific ELI classes, or involving specific teachers, give those teachers the opportunity to review and comment on your paper (or at least those parts of your paper that relate to their class, their teaching, etc.) to ensure that you are representing the teacher and the class fairly and accurately.

Courtesy copies of your paper 

After you write up your research, please provide the ELI with an electronic/digital copy. We may publish your paper on ScholarSpace so it can be accessible to other researchers and to ELI staff. Thus, unless we receive a request from you specifically not to make it available, we will assume that you have given your consent.

Revised October 2024