A Large-Scale Study

A cross-sectional approach is used in this study, which means that a substantial amount of data from both Saudi citizens (the survey) and ministry officials responsible for implementing m- government services is only collected once, and within a relatively short period of time. This could be done once permission had been given by the relevant authorities.

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questionnaire was distributed to Saudi citizens (public users) whether they had used mobile government services or not. Participants had to be 18 years old or over to participate in this survey. The questionnaire was distributed electronically (via Email, Twitter and WhatsApp) and manually in different cities in Saudi Arabia. This method is opportunistic, and the questionnaire was distributed to public users in government agencies, some universities and public areas such as parks, coffee shops, and shopping centres. The main reason behind the questionnaire being distributed electronically and manually was to get broader and more comprehensive results. Questionnaires given to participants manually were to be collected by the researcher who would also be on hand if the participant has any questions.

Before distributing the questionnaire electronically and manually, the participant had to confirm that he/she was 18 years old or over by marking the age confirmation statement in the questionnaire. Anyone consenting to filling in a questionnaire was given the same written information about the study as participants doing the electronic questionnaire. They were also told how long the questionnaire was likely to take; that they could refuse to answer any questions or withdraw from doing the questionnaire at any time and that anonymity and confidentiality was guaranteed. Electronically, participants were invited to participate via Email, Twitter and WhatsApp. University and Ministry databases were used to send email messages with the link to the survey. The researcher used personal contacts on Twitter and WhatsApp to further distribute the survey link.

At the end of the questionnaire for both paper and online versions, each participant was given a unique identifier, which they were advised to note and retain in case if they might decide to withdraw their data from this research. If they decided to proceed with the withdrawal of their data, they needed to email the researcher with that unique identifier and request removal of the data before the deadline. The deadline for such withdrawal was two weeks after the data collection date.

The questionnaire was divided into three different sections: The first section being general information; the second section being information about internet and mobile government usage; and the last section focusing on information related to factors that may influence citizens to adopt and use mobile government.

An online questionnaire is recommended for target population located far from the researcher or over a large area. Online communication has the advantages of being speedy, cheap and often more reliable than using the postal service; data handled and stored electronically may reduce the possibility of error and saves time as the researcher does not need to enter data manually; participants may find it easier to fill in an online questionnaire where they can be automatically directed to the next question and save their replies and return to the question later, and this can

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increase response rate and reduce errors (Sincero, 2012). However, online questionnaires cannot be used by members of the target population that have no internet access. Nevertheless, given the high penetration rate for PCs and mobiles in Saudi Arabia, it was assumed that most participants would be able to access the electronic questionnaire. There was a paper version for those that could not.

The participant thus had two options: to participate in this survey using a hard copy or electronic version of the questionnaire. Distributing the questionnaire personally in this way had the following advantages:

• The opportunity to motivate and encourage the respondents to participate.

• Data can be obtained quickly and easily from large number of participants at a single specified time.

• Allows a specific group to be targeted for data collection. (In this study- all Saudis over 18).

• Items can be explained to the participants when needed; (this ability to clarify the questions strengthens the validity and reliability of the results).

• Obtains a higher response rate than mailing the questionnaire.

As mentioned before, although the questionnaire was distributed to public users (Saudi citizens) in government agencies, some universities and public areas such as parks, cafes, and shopping centres, most participants sent back an electronic version of the questionnaire (via Email, Twitter and WhatsApp). The few hard copy questionnaires that were returned were inadequately completed and therefore discarded. Using hard copy questionnaires has many disadvantages as follows:

• High cost.

• Low response rate.

• Time-consuming to fill out the questionnaires.

• Limited sample size.

• Manual data entry.

• High likelihood of error.

• Higher number of items missed.

• Data collection takes more time.

The number of female participants in the survey was very high for Saudi Arabia, given that the researcher was male, which can pose cultural and religious difficulties for collecting data from female participants. Few male Saudi researchers (to our knowledge) have been able to acquire as many female participants as this study. Using an electronic version of the questionnaire

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The electronic version of the questionnaire was developed using the surveygizmo website, which was selected because of its good reputation for data collection and analysis in academic research. There are many advantages to this survey tool. Firstly, it offers considerable flexibility in the way questions are presented (85 different possible forms) and the questions can be written in Arabic script. Secondly, the resulting survey is easy for participants to navigate; and thirdly collection and analysis of data is made easy for the researcher as data can be automatically scored as soon as it is entered (SurveyGizmo, 2017). Furthermore, the data could be exported directly to SPSS as it was possible to design the survey so that participants were prevented from missing a question, thus avoiding having to ‘clean’ data to identify unanswered questions (Munn and Dreyer, 1996).