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Field Research

​​​​​​ This refers to survey and empirical research in which the researcher relies on collecting the necessary data from their primary sources in the field, to be used as a row material for full-fledged research. The most important requirement for securing IPA’s financial support for field research is to be relevant to the IPA's activities and mission stated under the motto (towards better administrative development). It also requires research topics to adopt a rigorous scientific methodology, including sample selection, data collection instruments, statistical analysis, summary of results, as well as providing recommendation and documentation of scientific references.
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Field research goes through the following steps:
  • Submitting an electronic form of the research plan to the Research and Studies Center.Then it is sent via the research and studies system.
  • The Research Committee shall review the submitted plan based on the importance of the subject, need and the applicant’s specialization and experience. The Committee shall decide whether to accept, amend or reject the plan.
  • The applicant is committed to carry out his research in accordance with the plan approved by the Research Committee.
  • An electronic copy of the completed research shall be submitted to the Research and Studies Center.
  • The Research Committee shall ensure that the submitted research is consistent with the already approved plan. If so, the research shall be referred to arbitration. If otherwise, the research shall be returned to the researcher to make the required changes, and sent to arbitration again.
  • The research shall be sent to three (3) peer-reviewers who are competent in the field of interest, whereby their degrees and ranks shall take into consideration. They shall be higher or equal to the degree and rank of the applicant.
  • The Research Committee shall review the arbitrators’ reports and the researchers’ responses and make the appropriate decision regarding the recommendation to publish or amend the work, or even send an apology to the researcher.
  • The research reward shall be estimated based on the reviewers’ ranking of the concerned research.
  • The entire due reward shall be paid to the applicant when the Research Committee refers the work to the General Directorate of Printing and Publishing at the IPA.
  • The IPA shall be entitled to print the research for a period of five years as of the date of concluding the contract with the applicant or distributing of 10,000 copies, whichever ends first. The IPA shall be entitled to sell the remaining copies available.
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There are several criteria for the Research Committee to accept or reject a field research plan. These criteria are as follows:
  • The relevance of the research subject to the IPA objectives and activities.
  • The size of the current intellectual production in the subject of the proposed research, which is approved by the Research Committee and has not yet been published and is available in the library.
  • Accuracy in formulating the research problem.
  • Concordance between the objectives and the search problem.
  • Clarity of concepts.
  • Link research questions or hypotheses to the research problem and objectives.
  • Clear description of the research population.
  • Clear description of the unit of analysis.
  • Determining the size of the target research population.
  • Suitability of the sampling method (method of selection of sample units).
  • Suitable target sample size.
  • Methods of data collection.
  • The researcher's relationship with the research topic.
  • Access to the target sample subjects.
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  • The IPA research and publishing rules emphasize the necessity of linking the subject of research and its applications to the government agencies and the requirements of development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
  • The researcher shall be personally responsible for the material written in the research.
  • The researcher shall be responsible for maintaining confidentiality over the identity of the research sample.
  • The researcher shall maintain the social and religious values.
  • The researcher may not force individuals who are not interested in making contributions to the research.
  • In all cases, the researcher shall inform the research sample of the purpose and the research requirements before participation.
  • The researcher shall be committed to quote references according to the following rules:
    • The total quotes shall not exceed 500 words from each reference. Literal quotation with a total number of words exceeding five hundred requires obtaining the written consent of the publisher and attachment of the approval in the research appendix.
    • The literal quoted text shall correspond exactly to the original text and be placed in quotation marks if the quoted text is less than forty words and placed between two quotation marks. It shall be separated from the body text with a two-line space.
    • The content of quoted ideas that are paraphrased by the researcher shall correspond to the content of ideas in the original text.
    • In case of referencing, the name of the researcher, the publication year and the page number from which the quotation was taken shall be mentioned along with the reference documentation in the list of references. In case of quotation, the researcher’s name and year of publication shall be mentioned and the reference shall be documented in the bibliography.
    • General facts, axioms and general scientific models do not require documentation.
    • Any person who violates the provisions of the first five rules shall be deemed to be disqualified and rejected by the Institute of Public IPA.
  • The researcher shall adhere to the specified completion date, and the Research Center shall follow up the progress periodically.
  • The research shall be evaluated by the reviewers according to the following criteria:
    • Importance of the research problem, previous literature on the research topic, clear and logical research questions and hypotheses, accurate determination of the research sample, correct design of data collection method, correct selection and application of the data analysis method, correct and comprehensive interpretation of the results, accurate conclusions and recommendations, the clear presentation and accurate wording. Please consult the Research Department to verify that these standards are met.
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