OTLT Research and Analytics supports faculty, staff, and graduate students conducting research on student learning using data from digital learning environments. We provide consultations, streamlined access to de-identified learning data, and collaborative research partnerships.

Consultations

Whether you're just beginning to develop a research question or are ready to request data, we're here to help. Our consultations are tailored to your project's needs and may include:

• Refine research questions and study design
• Identify available learning analytics and institutional data sources
• Assess the feasibility based on available data
• Navigate IRB and data access requirements
• Connect with additional research support and resources

Learning analytics umbrella IRB and data access

Studies must:

• Use secondary analysis of existing course data.
• Involve University of Iowa courses.
• Focus on student learning and academic experiences.

Researchers must be: 

• University of Iowa faculty or staff.
• University of Iowa graduate students conducting thesis or dissertation research.

Data in scope

1. Student interaction data from instructional technologies (e.g., ICON, Panopto, Zoom) used in the course.
2. Student performance data from the course (e.g., exam scores, assignment scores).
3. Academic records (e.g., UI GPA, course grades, earned semester hours) and demographic information (e.g., first-gen, gender, major, academic year, resident status).
4. Student responses to course assignments and exams (e.g., multiple choice or short answer responses).

Privacy Protection

• Lengthy or narrative assignments that could be re-identified (such as essays, journals, or large projects) are not within scope.
• Data will be shared in a manner that prevents the re-identification of individual students. Each category must contain data from at least six individuals.)

How to get started

1. Complete Human Subjects Training. 
2. Schedule a meeting with the Research and Analytics team to discuss your research and data needs.
3. Submit Learning Analytics Abstract to Research and Analytics.
4. Receive IRB approved de-identified dataset.

Research Partnerships

Research partnerships are tailored to the goals, needs, and scope of each project. Depending on the collaboration, we may contribute expertise and support in areas such as:

• Co-developing research questions and study protocols.
• Preparing, integrating, and analyzing data.
• Developing grant proposals and supporting grant-funded projects.
• Co-authoring conference presentations and publications.

To discuss potential research collaborations, please email us with a brief description of your interest at ITS-RA@iowa.uiowa.edu or schedule a consultation.