Hello, Researcher

Partnering with Character Lab lets you focus on your research, not logistics. We match you with a sample, coordinate all research activities, and handle the legal and logistical details—plus provide support throughout the process.

Let’s make research fast, frictionless, and fruitful 

Join Character Lab Research Network (CLRN) and work collaboratively with schools to advance scientific insights that help kids thrive. 

How it works

  • Submit an application to run a study during one of our data collection windows.
  • If your study is accepted, Character Lab handles all logistics like legal agreements, IRB, school relationships, digital platform management, and data collection.
  • After data collection, you receive anonymized and cleaned student behavioral data and SIS data.
  • Character Lab provides you with support in sharing study findings with the communities that will most benefit from them so you can continue to learn from each other.

What’s Included

We provide the infrastructure and resources to facilitate impactful research.

Large and diverse sample

  • 20,000 students
  • Grades 6-12
  • Representative sampling

Anonymized student data

  • Committed to the Student Privacy Pledge
  • Detailed demographics
  • Attendance and grades

Robust infrastructure

  • School recruitment
  • Accelerated IRB approval
  • Gold-standard data security

On-demand student input

  • High-quality feedback
  • Input at any stage of a study
  • Checks for cultural competence

On-Demand Student Input

We help you incorporate youth in the research process. Involving young people more meaningfully in the development of studies can leverage their collective expertise, increase the accuracy and validity of findings across diverse populations, identify valuable insights, and support adoption of research-based practices. We make it possible to talk to youth about your research ideas quickly and iteratively, in order to engage them meaningfully in study design and data interpretation.

CLRN Grants Available

We offer in-kind grants that reduce or eliminate the cost of running a study on CLRN.

Character Lab is committed to supporting high-quality research that benefits our school partners and supports equitable education and the well-being of all youth. We provide in-kind grant funding so that we can assist researchers whose work meets these goals, particularly those who have been historically underrepresented.

Our Research Partners

We are proud to work with researchers at universities across the country.