Background: Over the past few decades, the pharmacy profession has begun to develop in practice. After attending the college of pharmacy in the late 1980s, the pharmacists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia practiced their duties as product-based dispensing pharmacists. This study aimed to explore the pharmacists' basic level of knowledge in the research pharmacy practice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This is a 4-month cross-sectional study of pharmacists and pharmacy research knowledge. The first part of the survey consisted of demographic information, and the second part contains primary or essential information about pharmacy research. The 5-point Likert response scale system was used. The survey was created in an electronic format, and the primary information regarding pharmacy research was analyzed and collected through the SurveyMonkey system.
Results: The total number of respondents was 209 pharmacists. The average score level for basic knowledge of pharmacy research was 72.5% (3.63). The highest scores for knowledge of pharmacy research were the conclusion of research (3.87), revision of related literature (3.81), and formulation of the problem (3.77), whereas the lowest scores for knowledge of pharmacy research were formulated hypothesis (3.44), conducting a pilot
study (3.45), and development of a theoretical framework (3.47).
Conclusion: The basic pharmacy research knowledge among pharmacists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was found inadequate. An improved education and training in the basic knowledge of pharmacy research are highly recommended in Saudi Arabia.
Key words: Pharmacy practice research, pharmacy knowledge, pharmacist research knowledge, research knowledge
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