A new set of Teachers College Institutional Review (TC IRB) blogs, Researcher Highlights, includes a sequence of interviews with members of Teachers College’s researcher community to offer an inside look at how researchers engage in study activities, demands the pandemic imposed on their research decision-making, and explorations on how we can guide ethical practice into the future.
Chloe O’Neill, TC IRB Research Compliance Assistant, met with researchers representing diverse content knowledge to explore the fibers of the research community at Teachers College. Each blog post will highlight a researcher, research lab, or center. Each interviewee was interviewed for approximately an hour, asked roughly the same questions, and encouraged to share insights into how they see themselves in a researcher role and as part of the TC research community.
A Conversation with Dr. Catherine DeLazzero, TC ‘18
Dr. Catherine DeLazzero
Based in New York City, but through a Zoom interview from the Midwest, Dr. Catherine DeLazzero, a visiting research scholar at TC, reflected on her passion for research, ethical practices, and work within TC. Attaining her doctorate degree in English and Education in 2018, Catherine holds expertise in writing research and assessment, writing pedagogy, and, importantly, how writing can connect with trauma-informed practice. In her work, she asks how writing can function as a process of transformation and a powerful tool for addressing violence and advocating for human rights in schools and other settings (e.g., in government, hospitals, and prisons). With colleague Jonathan Auerbach, Catherine also researches how diverse participation in NYC government (e.g., through leadership and voice) leads to fairer outcomes for all New Yorkers.
Path to Research Questions
Catherine’s dissertation titled, Writing for Diversity, described diverse perspectives on writing, teaching, and assessment. During the research process, Catherine witnessed the ways in which educational processes could be both traumatic, violent environments, as well as provide opportunities for connection and repair, specifically through writing and communication. Catherine leveraged this paradoxical environment to extend writing to broader community activism. For the projects that followed, Catherine narrowed her focus to trauma-informed, action-oriented research methods in an effort to develop more explicit tools for pedagogy and activism.
IRB Preparation and Submission
Catherine’s dissertation research was a complicated project including multiple methods, sites, and populations (DOE high school and CUNY college students, instructors, and administrators), and tailored consent and recruitment methods. The complexity of her project required organized preparation and thoughtful consideration of each IRB document she submitted and revised.
“The IRB process is where I felt like I learned to do research right.”
Catherine shared that her experience with research in graduate classrooms felt abstract but became concrete through the IRB submission process. She noted the IRB protocol required and supported putting ethics at the center of her project. Catherine attributed her growth in understanding to the technical feedback for protocols and iterative conversations regarding research ethics with the TC IRB staff. Catherine considers the IRB submission not a one-time transaction but an ongoing and, potentially reciprocal, learning process that enhances the quality of her research.
Attributing great support from the TC IRB staff, Catherine reflected on the importance of every decision researchers make. “You really have to think through every single step, you do not know every decision you will have to make in advance,” and added the IRB process encourages researchers to appropriately prepare and consider possible decisions or situations before and while conducting research. Catherine’s project required careful consideration of consent throughout the IRB submission process and throughout her studies. She noted three important aspects of her participant consent process:
- Transparency
- Catherine ensured standard protections including data management, de-identified coded documents, and optional participant transcript reviews. Additionally, Catherine was intentional about the participants' understanding of consent and provided the interview protocols beforehand. Catherine acknowledged the sometimes ambiguous and fluid data collection at her study sites. For example, she used semi-structured interviews with questions adjusted in response to participants’ interests and needs. However, she focused on her concrete practices to inform her participants and prioritize their rights to privacy and confidentiality.
- Accessibility
- Catherine stated, “Communication was the most important factor for accessibility because consent forms contain so much information without much time to process that information.” Catherine emphasized her intentional approach to communication and consent with participants throughout research activities. Her approach was centered on participant care and respect. Additionally, Catherine noted that especially in large scale research projects, unexpected communication challenges arise, including management of logistics. Researchers should prepare for inevitable struggles, miscommunications, and gaps in understanding beyond what's articulated in IRB protocols. Catherine reflected on her open conversations with TC IRB and recognized the mutually beneficial relationships that formed throughout the process. The intentional communication of her research preparation, questions, and struggles allowed the TC IRB to better support her and her research.
- Continual Process
- Catherine also emphasized that consent is an ongoing process even after the consent document is signed. She was mindful and considerate of ways to continually empower the participants throughout the entire research process.
Advice for Future Researchers
Catherine is passionate about ethical research that empowers participants and researchers in the making of new knowledge. She offered the following advice to future researchers:
- Mistakes are a fact of life, and,
- Check your own interests and ambition so that you can prioritize the people you are engaging with in your studies.
“No one is ‘better’ at ethics than anyone else, so entering with that humility is important.”
Catherine continues, “Even if researchers make ethics their central focus and employ what’s considered ‘best’ practice, they will still at moments fail.” Catherine emphasizes that mistakes are inevitable and there are consequences, especially in research settings. From her perspective, ethicality in research requires accountability for both ourselves and to others. She notes the importance of developing a process for reflecting on hard questions, identifying a person or space to openly process the difficulties, and adjusting actions accordingly to minimize harm and maximize positive impacts.
Acknowledging the benefit, and also the detriment, of competitive, academic environments, Catherine highlighted the value and beauty of what drives research but warned of the difficulty of executing ethical research in practice. Catherine encourages future researchers to be passionate and confident in pursuing their authentic interests and for their focus to be as much on supporting participants’ well-being and bettering communities as on furthering their own creative and professional goals.
To learn more about the IRB process, please visit our website on How to Submit. To learn more about various ways to support participant consent and comprehension please visit our webpage.
To follow the rest of the Researcher Highlight series, please find Dr. Lori Quinn’s and Dr. Tyler Watts' on our blog page.