MIS 650 Writing Research Papers I: Theory (Getting an Idea)

1
MIS 650Writing Research Papers
ITheory(Getting an Idea)
2
Why Write a Research Paper

• To TEACH what is known
• To HIGHLIGHT the need to know more
• To GENERATE new thought
• To INTEGRATE your thought into existing thought
• To DEMONSTRATE the truth of your thinking
• To INSTIGATE new inquiry

3
Forms of Research Paper

• Formal published article in scholarly or
  professional journal
• Paper delivered at scholarly or professional
  conference
• Technical report to working group (business or
  professional)
• Journalistic article for (general) public
• Dissertation/Thesis/Research Report/ Technical
  Report

4
Types of Research Paper

• Critical Review of Thought
• Expose of Bad Practice
• (Re) Analysis of the Situation
• Research Report, pointing out new facts,
  seeking opportunities

5
Pragmatics of ISResearch

• Consult Strategic Plan (Strategy, Planning)
• Generate the Question (Marketing)
• Find a Sponsor (Marketing, Finance)
• Settle Ethical Questions, Obtain Approval
  (Policy)
• Write one or more Proposals (Commn)
• Research the Literature (Operations)
• Refine the Question (Marketing, Policy)

6
Pragmatics of IS Research (contd.)

• Research the Real World (Operations)
• Analyse the Results (Operations)
• Document the Results (Communication)
• Draw Conclusions (Operations)
• Submit for Publication (Sales)
• Account for Resource use (Accounting)
• Celebrate or cringe (PR)

7
Generating a Topic

• Unsystematically
• Systematically
• For a Funder/Audience
• To Complete/Round out a Resume
• What Will Sell
• Current Hot Topics
• The Need for a Stable Phenomenon
• The Need to Hold Your Interest

8
CURRENT HOT TOPICS
TECHNOLOGY
IT MANAGEMENT
COMMERCE
Methods Internet, Web Client-Server GroupWare
IT Staff Retention CIO, IT Governance IT
Practices, Success Project Management Outsourcing

BPR friends Electronic Commerce Alignment Tech
nology Adoption Global IS Network Paradigms
Methodological Issues Interpretivistism,
Qualitative Methods, Ethics
9
Users of the Research Paper
Other Researchers
Other IS Students
IS Practitioners
General Public
Research Paper
IS Practitioners
IS Prof
IS Instructors
Exter- nal Reader
10
Uses of the Research Paper

• Extend the frontiers of knowledge
• Point out commercial opportunities
• Meet the needs of academic task, goal
• Foment revolution, change
• Market ideas to a limited group
• Sound the alarm, call to action
• Hidden Agendas (career, politics, etc.)

11
How Your Paper Will Be Judged

• Innovativeness, contribution to theory
• Completeness of background research
• Relevance to perceived current challenges
• Clarity, succinctness, appeal, structure
• Mechanical production or delivery
• Persuasiveness, face validity
• Applicability of results
• Political correctness, unfortunately

12
Structure of the Research Paper

• Chapter 1 Theory
• Chapter 2 Literature Review
• Chapter 3 Methodology
• Chapter 4 Data Collection
• Chapter 5 Analysis and Results
• Chapter 6 Conclusions

13
Chapter 1 Theory

• Chapter Outline
• 1.1 Context, History
• 1.2 Your Research TOPIC
• 1.3 Contending Theories (if any)
• 1.4 Necessity for Research
• 1.5 Value of Research
• 1.6 The Research Hypotheses
• 1.7 Overview of Rest of Paper

14
1.1 Context/History

• WHEN The history of the research area
• What has happened in the real world?
• What has happened in the world of ideas?
• WHERE Context
• WHO is interested? ? WHY?
• WHAT are the stakes and stakeholders ?
• HOW Method
• Why is this new approach called for?

15
1.2 Your Research Topic

• State your research topic as succinctly but as
  vividly as possible
• The role that culture plays in the perceptions
  of participants in electronic, computer-supported
  meetings (EMS)
• Note action-oriented kernal plays
• Note focus/locus culture, EMS
• In IS, there must be a technology locus

16
1.3 Contending Theories
Existing Theory
Phenomenon of Interest
Unrelated Implications
Contending Theory
Possibly yours!
17
Example Deindividuation

• Current theory says creativity in meetings due
  to deindividuation, participant losing
  inhibitions by being immersed in group
• Deindividuation can explain both good and bad
  behaviour, but little bad happens, and cannot
  explain free riding
• New theory (orienting) shows how people are
  creative while probing constraint

18
Example IT and Knowledge Creation

• KC requires certain enabling conditions
• IT can affect KC in three ways
• IT can (1) create enabling conditions, (2)
  affect how E.C.s facilitate K.C. and (3) directly
  generate knowledge.

Variety, Autonomy, Creative Chaos, etc.
Enablg Condns
1a
1b
Info Techy
Knowl. Creation
2
3
19
1.4 Necessity for Research Possible reasons

• Situation is instance of more general phenomenon
  regarding technology
• Commercial interest
• Potential for wasting lots of business resources
• People need help with technology
• Technology is going the wrong direction

20
1.5 Value of ResearchPossible Criteria

• Refers to previous sections on WHAT, WHO, WHY,
  and HOW
• Demonstrates that research is worth doing
• Convinces that paper is worth reading

21
Example GSS and Culture

• Because existing theories dont explain anomalous
  (unexpected and inconsistent) results very well,
  these theories need improvement. Also, such
  systems are now more widely marketed to
  non-American groups. In addition, there have been
  many examples of partial implementation and huge
  expense. We suspect that corporate or national
  culture is a strong influence on the value of
  GSS. The new theory shows how culture influences
  users perceptions and evaluations.

22
1.6 The Research Hypotheses

• Are predictions from theory that can be tested.
  THEY MUST BE TESTABLE
• Generally are phrased in abstract terms but
  can be related to real-world phenomena
• If hypotheses are shown to be false, then the
  underlying theory must have something false in it
• Often stated in the null or negative way

23
Two Research Approaches Positivism
Phenomenology

• Seeks prediction and control
• Reduces world to atoms
• Stresses observation
• Concerned with objectivity
• Scientific

• Seeks understanding and debate
• Treats world as a whole within context
• Stresses experience
• Concerned with subjectivity
• Experiential

24
A Brief Journey to Positivismland

• Independence of Observer
• Free of values objectivity is goal
• Seeks to explain causes
• Hypothetico-Deductive (theory tested by
  observation)
• Operationalisation is key
• Reductionist
• Seeks Generalisations
• Cross-sectional

25
Hypothetico-Deductive Method
Theory makes predictions that are implications
Working / Research
Theory comes from researchers imagination

Theory Describing the Real World
Testable Hypotheses
Hypotheses are operationalised into real-world
test of predictions
Theory is revised after results of testing. If
theory is supported, it need not be revised,
however.
Real-World Observations
Real-World Test
Real-world test of predictions is carried out
26
Example GSS and Culture Working Hypotheses

• W1 Orienting decreases with time
• W2 New cultural situations heighten need to
  orient
• W3 New situations heighten sense of
  self-awareness and thus reduce perceived sense of
  anonymity

Note abstract Terminology
Note Generality
27
Example GSS and Culture Research Hypotheses

• H1 Participants (Ps) generate more
  orienting-type comments in early stages of
  meeting than later stages
• H2 Ps generate more orienting-type comments in a
  transcultural setting than in a unicultural
  setting
• H3 Ps have a higher sense of self-awareness in
  transcultural settings than...

28
1.7 Overview of Rest of the Research Paper

• Mention each chapter
• Highlight main point of each chapter
• If not as expected (I.e., this outline), explain
  why you must deviate from expected
• Point out any unusual things the reader must
  watch out for
• Acknowledgements can be put here or in separate
  section at front of paper

29
Theory Development Worksheet
Complete the attached worksheet Develop a
formalised set of theoretical ideas Write a short
article on the ideas
30
Theory Development Worksheet
Page 3 Page 2 Page 1
Describe a phenomenon that is of interest to
you Why is this interesting? What else would
you like to know about this phenomenon?
31
Theory Development Worksheet - B
Page 1 Page 3 Page 2
What are the important concepts to this
phenomenon? How do you think they are
related? What about them causes this
relationship?
32
Theory Development Worksheet - C
Page 2 Page 1 Page 3
What other reasons could there be for this
phenomenon to occur the way it does? How
would you say these reasons differ from one
another? How would you go about demonstrating
which reason is the best one?
33
Describe a phenomenon that is of interest to
you Why is this interesting? What
else would you like to know about this phenomenon?
Theory Development Worksheet
34
What are the important concepts to this
phenomenon? How do you think they are
related? What about them causes this
relationship?
Theory Development Worksheet
35
What other reasons could there be for this
phenomenon to occur the way it does? How
would you say these reasons differ from one
another? How would you go about
demonstrating which reason is the best one?
Theory Development Worksheet