Behavioral Education Center at Bilkent University – Advancing Educational Research Through Behavioral Insights

Getting started

Are you planning a new education project?

Involves proprietary, confidential, sensitive, or otherwise restricted data?
Requires work on a data application with an external data provider; but have questions?

How can our center can help you with your project?

Navigating the restricted data application process
Providing the required secure environment description for your research data management plan
Answering questions about our data availability
Answering questions about program design

Step-by-step guide to propose a new project and request data

Explore the Available Datasets

Begin by familiarizing yourself with our available datasets. Detailed descriptions, including the scope, target group, and coverage, are available on our Datasets Overview page.

Check Eligibility

Ensure your research or project aligns with our data usage policies and ethical guidelines below. Projects should aim to advance educational research or practice, with a clear benefit to learners or educators.

Prepare Your Proposal

Your proposal should include:

Project Title: A clear, descriptive title.
Research Objectives: The goals and hypotheses of your project.
Methodology: How you plan to use the data, including analysis techniques.
Expected Outcomes: The anticipated impact and findings of your research.
Team Members: Information about the research team’s expertise and roles.
Ethical Considerations: How you will address privacy, consent, and data security.

Submit Your Proposal

Proposals can be send to ayse.aslan@bilkent.edu.tr. Please ensure all sections are completed accurately to avoid delays in the review process.

Proposal Review

Our review committee will assess your proposal based on its scientific merit, ethical standards, and alignment with our data policies. This process typically takes 4-6 weeks.

Access Approval

If approved, you will receive detailed instructions on accessing the datasets, including any conditions or restrictions associated with their use.

Our datasets

Perspective Taking Study

Since the beginning of the Syrian War in 2011, Turkey has received over 3.5 million Syrian refugees, including nearly 1 million children. Syrian refugee children face social exclusion and in-school violence. Socially excluded individuals are less likely to exhibit prosocial attributes. These outcomes may justify even further social exclusion and intergroup violence. This study evaluates a unique educational intervention that aims to facilitate integration.

Curiosity Study

We evaluate a pedagogical intervention that aims to improve the learning quality of elementary school children by nurturing their curiosity. The pedagogy, aimed primarily at science teaching, was practiced by children’s teachers for an entire academic year. We test the effectiveness of this pedagogy using objective test scores and a novel measure of curiosity. The measure involves first creating a sense of information deprivation, then quantifying the urge to acquire information and the ability to retain information.

Adolescent Empowerment Study

In this project, we aim to test the effectiveness of a unique program that aims to improve the school climate in socioeconomically disadvantaged post-primary schools. Evaluation results are coming soon.