Regulations for Scientific Research
at the American University of Madaba No (20) of 2014
Issued on the Basis of Article “17-B-11” of the Law of Jordanian Universities
No. 20 of 2009 and its Amendments
Chapter 1
Definitions, Objectives, and Authorities
Article 1 These regulations shall be named “Regulations for Scientific Research at the American University of Madaba of 2014”. They shall go into effect after they have been duly approved by the Deans Council.
Article 2 The words and phrases below shall have, wherever they appear in these regulations, their specified meaning unless otherwise indicated in context:
University American University of Madaba
President President of the University
Faculty Any of the University faculties
Center Any of the University centers
Dean Dean of Scientific Research
Council Scientific Research Council at the University
Committee Scientific Research Committee in the Faculty
Researcher A person who undertakes doing research within the framework of these regulations, whether they are faculty members, full-time lecturers, or staff, individually or jointly undertaking the research project as the principal researcher
Research Any material published in a refereed journal, periodical, or series
Author Any University faculty member applying for support to have a research article or book published
Book Any study, authored material, translation, or verified text of an original manuscript, or printed material to be published in one volume or more
Article 3 a) These regulations aim at organizing, encouraging, supporting, following up, and publishing scientific research.
b) ‘Scientific Research Support’ in these regulations is intended to refer to all various means of financial, moral, and human support provided to the researcher by the University.
c) Priority in supporting scientific research shall be given to scientific research projects that serve the University objectives.
Article 4 a) The Council shall consist of the Dean, as chair, and representatives of University faculties, as members, to be appointed by the President for a two-year term subject to renewal only once.
b) The President may, upon a recommendation from the Dean, appoint one or two members from the concerned local community institutions in the Council for a one-year term subject to renewal only once.
c) The Council may invite any person to attend its meetings to participate in its deliberations but with no voting privileges.
Article 5 The Council shall assume the following authorities and responsibilities:
a) Proposing the general policy for scientific research at the University and ways to carry it out, and drawing plans for scientific research and presenting them before the Deans Council to approve them.
b) Preparing plans or needed instructions for organizing scientific research affairs, encouraging, coordinating, supporting, following up, evaluating and publishing it.
c) Drawing instructions and conditions necessary for reserving University and author copyrights related to research projects and their outcomes as long as they are not in conflict with patent, writing, and publication copyrights effective in Jordan.
d) Discussing the annual budget and balance sheet for scientific research.
e) Supervising the issuance of journals or periodicals concerned with the publication of specialized scientific research articles.
f) Recommending to the President to grant financial support for research projects, publication of books and research articles, works of art, and manuscripts.
g) Any other business related to scientific research.
Article 6 The Dean shall assume the following authorities and responsibilities:
a) Carrying out University policy concerning scientific research support and publication.
b) Preparing the annual budget for scientific research and submitting it to the Deans Council for approval.
c) Seeking to find out external resources to finance scientific research.
d) Establishing a database about scientific research at the University.
e) Submitting an annual report about scientific research activities at the University.
f) Supervising the Deanship of Scientific Research page on the University website and posting data and information that may be helpful to faculty members on it, thus reflecting a positive image about the deanship’s activities.
g) Drawing criteria to observe and assure ethics in scientific research, thereby enhancing the level of research outcomes of the University.
f) Any other business related to scientific research.
Article 7 The President may, upon the recommendation of the Council, award incentives and appreciative rewards to distinguished researchers and valuable scientific research projects.
Article 8 Financial resources to support scientific research at the University shall consist of two main resources:
a) University scientific research budget.
b) External resources devoted to scientific research in line with the University bylaws and regulations.
Article 9 The University shall provide the appropriate environment and tools necessary for the advancement of academic research by providing faculty members with all they need in terms of time, space, equipment, and library services, among others, to conduct scientific research.
Article 10 At the beginning of the academic year, each faculty shall establish a committee for scientific research to encourage and supervise research activities in the faculty. This committee shall be comprised of the dean of the faculty, or whomever deputized by them, as chair, and include in its membership a representative of each department in that faculty. In case there are no academic departments in the faculty, the faculty council shall establish a three-member committee for scientific research from amongst its members. The dean of the faculty shall inform the Dean of all research activities taking place in their faculty.
Article 11 a) The faculty dean shall, in coordination with the scientific research committee in their faculty, prepare the annual research budget draft and submit it to the Dean.
b) The Dean shall prepare the University research budget draft in light of the annual research budget drafts submitted by faculty deans and center directors and submit it to the Council for consideration before submitting it to the President for approval.
c) The Deans Council shall decide the annual budget for scientific research at the University.
Chapter 2
Supporting Research from University Budget
Article 12 The duration of research projects shall not exceed a period of three years at the most, provided that the request for project support include itemization of the support on an annual basis.
Article 13 The Council shall prepare a form for scientific research support request, provided it take the following into consideration:
a. The name of the principal researcher and names of co-researchers, their academic departments, academic ranks, and date of appointment at the University.
b. A description of the research project they intend to undertake, including the research title, its goals, and its relationship with University objectives.
c. A brief summary of what has previously been achieved in the field of this research and what the researcher is hoping to achieve.
d. The researcher’s experience in the subject of the research project and related fields.
e. A list of references, equipment, materials and facilities needed for the project, what is available and unavailable at the University, costs, times for using them, expenditure venues, and a detailed illustration of how to provide the unavailable materials.
Article 14 a. The researcher submits the application for scientific research support to the head of their department, who shall in turn submit it to the dean of the faculty. The dean of the faculty shall refer the application to the scientific research committee in the faculty to make a recommendation on the research project, and then to the Dean. The whole process must be completed within a period of three weeks at the most.
b. The Council may refer the research projects submitted to it to whomever they consider competent for evaluating them, and it shall recommend to the President the amount of the allowance to be awarded to the referee on the basis of regulations issued by the Council.
c. The Council shall look into the submitted project and recommend to the President the amount of the financial support to be granted to it for his approval.
d. The researcher must submit progress reports to the Dean on the progress made towards the completion of the research project at times specified in the support decision.
Article 15 a. The financial support offered to research projects from the scientific research budget at the University covers the following:
1. Allowances for research assistants.
2. Printing, stationary and publishing costs.
3. Incentives for researchers and experts (provided that the researcher does not receive any incentives until the research project has been completed and the final report has been accepted, and that the incentive does not exceed 15% of his/her university monthly salary for the duration of the approved research period).
4. Technical services, whether available or not at the University.
5. Costs of references.
6. Costs of laboratory equipment, tools, computer sets, programming, and technical equipment, among others.
7. Supplies and consumables.
8. Travel, transportation and accommodation expenses, provided they do not exceed 30% of the total financial support of the project.
9. Miscellaneous items, provided they do not exceed 2% of the total financial support of the project.
b. Transfer of one item to another of the research project budget may be done upon a recommendation from the Council and the approval of the President.
c. Allowances for University research assistants shall be determined in accordance with the University financial bylaws and regulations.
Article 16 Research projects submitted by any of the University administrative staff may be considered for financial support, in which case the research project support application shall be submitted to the department director who will recommend to the Dean to have it reviewed by the Council.
Article 17 All references, equipment, programs, supplies, and tools that are bought from the scientific research budget shall become the property of the University.
Article 18 a. The researcher shall provide the department chair and both the committee chair and the dean of the faculty with a hard and soft copy of the final report, and the dean of the faculty shall in turn submit it to the Dean.
b. The Dean shall send the final report for evaluation, and he shall, on the basis of that evaluation, recommend acceptance or not of that report. In case of non-acceptance, the report shall be sent back to the researcher to make all modifications or additions suggested by the referee.
c. The researcher has the right to publish their research results in the way that they choose, but they must acknowledge the support given to them by the University by adding the following sentence in the acknowledgement section: ”This research project received financial support from the Deanship of Scientific Research at the American University of Madaba.”
d. The article(s) resulting from the supported research project and published in an international scientific refereed journal shall be considered as the final report and does not, therefore, need any evaluation.
Article 19 Scientific research support shall be suspended or claimed back by a decision issued by the President upon a recommendation from the Council in any of the following cases:
a) Not completing the research project in its designated stages without any excuse acceptable to the Council.
b) Spending amounts of money for other than the items decided upon.
c) The Council’s conviction of the failure of the researcher to carry out the research project.
Article 20 The President may, upon a recommendation from the faculty dean, reduce the teaching load of the faculty member who has submitted a research project and has received the Council’s approval. Load reduction shall be commensurate with the nature and demands of the research project.
Article 21 The President may, upon a recommendation from the Dean, approve of hosting a full-time researcher from outside the University to join a University research team undertaking a research project that has been approved by the Council.
Chapter 3
Supporting Scientific Research from External Resources
Article 22 These resources include the following types of grants that have been approved by the Board of Trustees:
a) Unconditional grants to be awarded for scientific research at the University
b) Conditional grants paid to the University to undertake scientific research in certain fields and topics.
c) Grants from outside the University awarded to the researcher to undertake a certain research project under the University supervision. The University shall be committed to letting the researcher benefit from its references, equipment, and other facilities.
Article 23 The grants stated in paragraph (a) of Article (22) above shall be entered into the scientific research section of the University budget, and shall be subject to the provisions of Articles (12-19) above. The University shall not, however, deduct any amounts of money against the administrative costs or the cost of using University facilities.
Article 24 a. The grants mentioned in paragraphs (b and c) of Article (22) above shall be part of the scientific research budget and shall be subject to the provisions stated in Articles (14-19) of these regulations as long as they are not in conflict with the grant conditions accepted by the University.
b. The University shall deduct 15% of the aggregate amount of the grants referred to in paragraph (a) of this article against the administrative expenses and using the University facilities.
Article 25 If the grant included an amount dedicated to the researcher’s stipend for extra work or work during holidays, that stipend shall be expended in accordance with the grant conditions and itemizations, if available, including the per diems stated in the grant to be awarded in accordance with the grant conditions or with the effective bylaws and regulations of the University.
Article 26 The University has the right to cooperate with external bodies in undertaking research projects and studies for the benefit of those bodies or on their behalf. The University also has the right to request faculty members or full-time lecturers to participate in those research projects and studies, and they shall be subject to the provisions of Articles (14-19) and Article (24) of these regulations as to their incentives.
Chapter 4
Supporting Publication of Research and Participation in Scientific Conferences
Article 27 a) Publication of research articles, books, works of art, and manuscripts authored by one or more of the University faculty/staff may be supported.
b) The University shall allot an amount in the annual budget of scientific research for supporting scientific publication.
c) The Dean shall recommend to the President the methods of expending the allowances of scientific publication at the University.
Article 28 The Council shall prepare a form for “Publication Support” including the following:
a) Author’s name, department, academic rank, and the appointment date.
b) Title of the research article, book, work of art, or manuscript whose publication is to be supported.
c) The actual or estimated expenses for the publication of the research article, book, work of art, or manuscript.
Article 29 Should an author submit an application for supporting a research article that has been accepted for publication in a journal, periodical or series of an international scientific status and recognized by the University, and whose publisher requested them to contribute towards the expenses of printing and publishing, the contribution shall be paid to the publisher upon a recommendation from the Council to the President, provided that the author acknowledges the University’s contribution towards the publication of their research.
Article 30 a) If an author applied for supporting the publication of a book, they must attach three copies of the book manuscript in its final form.
b) The Council shall refer the book manuscript to at least two referees of the scientific status and expertise in the subject of the book.
c) The referee shall be paid the allowance recommended by the Council and approved by the President.
d) The referee shall be requested to express their view in the following:
1. Up-to-dateness, integrity, and originality of the book
2. Scientific value of the reviewed text of a printed manuscript
3. Research style
4. Writing style, language, presentation, and classification
5. Scientific investigation
6. Translation method and accuracy
Article 31 The following rules shall be adopted for supporting the publication of books:
a) Books recommended by referees shall be supported by a maximum of JD 3000.
b) The author must submit a statement testifying that the book to be considered for support has not been published earlier, partially or completely.
c) The author must acknowledge the University’s contribution towards the publication of their book by writing the following statement on their book’s inside and outside covers: ”The publication of this book was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research of the American University of Madaba”.
d) The author shall be responsible for the proofreading of the book.
e) The author shall notify the Council chair in writing of the issuance of the book and shall send a copy of this notification to the Library Director.
f) Upon the completion of the publication of the book, the author shall provide the Deanship of Scientific Research with fifty copies of their publication free of charge for purposes of keeping, presenting and exchanging them.
Article 32 The University may assign the writing of a book to an author, and may then send it out to referees to evaluate its suitability for publication upon meeting all conditions of the specified purpose, to become one of the University publications in accordance with what is mentioned in Article (34) of these regulations.
Article 33 The University may, upon a decision by the Deans Council on the basis of a recommendation from the Council, publish a valuable book or an outstanding translation at its own expense, within a series of the University publications. This kind of publication includes the following works:
a) Research works supported and refereed by the University
b) Revised and refereed books, research articles, studies, and manuscripts which include a substantial addition to human knowledge or whose publication serves the University goals
c) Valuable translations transferring a significant aspect of human knowledge from and into Arabic and English after being refereed
d) Scientific works, works of art, manuscripts, studies, and research articles that are assigned by the University to one or more people to undertake after being refereed by one or more specialized people
e) Conference proceedings held at the University after being refereed
Article 34 The following principles are adopted for University publications:
a) Number of copies for each publication shall be decided by the Council.
b) Author(s) shall be given a reward decided by the President on the basis of regulations issued by the Council.
c) Author(s) shall be given up to 15% of the number of copies to be published on the basis of a decision issued by the Council.
Article 35 The following principles are adopted for attending international scientific conferences:
a) The conference should be refereed and indexed
b) The researcher should present a proof that their research has been refereed and accepted for participation in the conference.
c) It is not accepted that the same research is presented at more than one conference.
d) The researcher should have worked for the University no less than two semesters or one semester in justifiable cases.
e) Priority is given to researchers who have not been travelled to attend conferences.
f) Faculty members are not allowed to attend more than one conference outside Jordan in a single year.
g) The acceptance of the research should be based on the entire research completed project and not only on the abstract.
h) If the research is derived from students’ course projects or graduation projects then the names of the students concerned should be placed on the research project.
i) The conferences attended should be organized by one of the following,
· A scientific foundation
· A scientific association
· Scientific society
· Accredited University that is prestigious and well reputed.
j) The conference attended should be one that is held regularly and the times that it has been held is no less than five times except when it fulfills the conditions of item (i).
k) The President decides whether the participation in a conference should be supported based on the recommendation of the Dean of the respective faculty given that the support is up to,
· 2000 JD for countries of North American, Canada, East Asia and Australia.
· 1300 JD for countries of Europe and North Africa.
· 900 JD for the rest of the Arab countries.
The amount of exemptions, per diems, air tickets granted by the sponsor of the conferences or any other agency is taken into account.
l) Upon their return from the conference, attendees should present to the Dean of their faculties a detailed report on their participation in the conference attached to a copy of the published paper in the conference
Chapter 5
General Principles
Article 36 Financial support for research projects or publication shall be decided as follows:
a. By a decision from the President upon a recommendation from the Dean if the amount of support does not exceed JD 1000.
b. By a decision from the President upon a recommendation from the Council if the amount of support does not exceed JD 20000.
c. By a decision from the Deans Council upon a recommendation from the Council if the amount of support exceeds JD 20000.
Article 37 If a researcher/author jointly worked with other researchers/ authors from other scientific institutions, this must be done in accordance with a joint agreement approved by the President upon the recommendation of the Council, provided that it determines the responsibilities, duties, financial and logistic contributions, and rights of all parties.
Article 38 The President may approve the establishment of incubators for scientific research in which assistance is provided for the development of scientific and technological research projects into development projects that may benefit the economic sectors through the transfer of technology or the transfer of ideas to those sectors.
Article 39 The Deans Council shall decide on holding specialized conferences, workshops and seminars at the University, and shall also decide on the amount of financial support to be deducted from the scientific research budget at the University.
Article 40 The President shall decide on the participation of University employees in international conferences and conventions which aim at the development of academic, research, technical and administrative work at the University. This kind of participation shall be covered by the scientific research budget at the University.
Article 41 All administrative and financial transactions related to supporting scientific research and its publication shall be subject to the bylaws, regulations, and administrative and financial decisions in effect at the University.
Article 42 The President, the Dean, and deans of faculties shall be responsible for the implementation of these regulations.