IS8004(M)

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IS8004(M)

• Seminar 1
• Introduction and the Road Ahead

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Research and Methods

• In order to tackle a research problem it is
  conventional to apply a method.
• A method is simply a way of doing something.
• There are many methods, and each has a prescribed
  set of rules about how it should be applied.
• There is no one best method. Each method is
  appropriate for different situations. Sometimes,
  methods can be applied in combination.
• Just as important as the method is the researcher
  who applies the method.

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Research and Methods

• Methods can be classified in different ways
• Type of data
• Quantitative or Qualitative
• Type of data analysis
• Coding, Hermeneutic, Grounded, Metaphorical,
• Epistemology
• Positivist, Interpretivist, Critical
• Role of researcher
• Observer, Intervenor
• Sample methods
• Case Study, Action Research, Ethnography

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Types of Data

• Quantitative (numerical) Data
• Objective data, e.g. , , , n
• Used to describe specific objective measures,
  e.g. of individual or organisational performance
• Subjective data, e.g. SA 1, 31/100
• Used to describe subjective perceptions of
  situations
• Transformative data, e.g. S, s, xy
• Used in statistics so as to calculate results
  for later further analysis.

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Types of Data

• Qualitative
• Interviews
• Un/Semi-structured Telephone, IM, ftf
  Researcher Subject(s)
• Notes and observations
• Text, Audio or Video Researcher
• Diaries
• Data Subject
• Documents
• Usually organisation Text, Audio or Video
• User-generated data
• Data Subject Text, Audio or Video
• Emails/SMS/IM/Wiki
• Researcher and Data Subject(s)

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Data Coding

• Organising data so that it can be analysed
• Looking for patterns in data
• Thematic
• Semiotic
• Metaphorical
• So as to identify theoretical constructs, as well
  as practical examples to illustrate existing
  theory.

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Hermeneutics

• Hermeneutics
• Interpretation of written texts also
  verbal/non-verbal communication, multimedia, etc.
• The texts are created in a social context
• The hermeneutic circle
• The dialectic between the understanding of the
  text as a whole and the interpretation of its
  parts, in which descriptions are guided by
  anticipated explanations
• The aim of the hermeneutic analysis involves
  trying to make sense of the whole, and the
  relationship between people, the organization,
  and information technology.

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Semiotics

• Semiotics
• The study of signs
• E.g. red hot blue cold
• E.g. Monastic Sign Languages (Sebeok)
• Content analysis
• The researcher searches for structures and
  patterned regularities in the text and makes
  inferences on the basis of these regularities.
• Intertextuality
• Comparing patterns across documents

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Metaphor

• The concept of understanding one thing in terms
  of another.
• Her eyes were glistening diamonds
• The system died
• Shoot the competition!
• Killer apps
• Fly High with Business Knowledge
• We should embrace IT
• This function is a cornerstone of the programme
• Employees immersed in an IT training course

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Grounded Theory

• is a research method that seeks to develop
  theory that is grounded in data systematically
  gathered and analyzed. 
• is "an inductive theory discovery methodology
  that allows the researcher to develop a
  theoretical account of the general features of a
  topic while simultaneously grounding the account
  in empirical observations or data." (Martin
  Turner, 1986)

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Epistemology Positivism

• Positivism is premised on the scientific method
  as the best way to understand processes
• It relies on observable, empirical and measurable
  evidence
• Data is collected through observation and
  experimentation
• Hypotheses are formulated and tested with that
  data
• The method is as objective as possible, to reduce
  bias
• Description, control and prediction are key tenets

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Epistemology - Interpretivism

• All actions occur in a social context
• This context includes language, culture, shared
  meanings
• Interpretive studies generally attempt to
  understand phenomena through the meanings that
  people assign to them and interpretive methods of
  research in IS are "aimed at producing an
  understanding of the context of the information
  system, and the process whereby the information
  system influences and is influenced by the
  context" (Walsham 1993, p. 4-5).
• Interpretive research does not predefine
  dependent and independent variables, but focuses
  on the full complexity of human sensemaking as
  the situation emerges (Kaplan and Maxwell, 1994).

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Epistemology - Critical

• Critical researchers assume that social reality
  is historically constituted.
• Although people can consciously act to change
  their social and economic circumstances, critical
  researchers recognize that their ability to do so
  is constrained by various forms of social,
  cultural and political domination.
• The main task of critical research is seen as
  being one of social critique, whereby the
  restrictive conditions of the status quo are
  brought to light.
• Critical research focuses on the oppositions,
  conflicts and contradictions in contemporary
  society, and seeks to be emancipatory.

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Role of the Researcher

• Observer
• Someone who watches and measures
• Case studies, Ethnography
• Someone who designs and measures
• Experiment, Survey
• Intervenor
• Someone who changes and measures
• Action Research

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Case Study

• A case study is an empirical inquiry that
• investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its
  real-life context, especially when
• the boundaries between phenomenon and context are
  not clearly evident (Yin, 2003)
• The case study is the most common form of
  qualitative research method in IS as well as
  other disciplines

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Ethnography

• An ethnographer is required to spend a
  significant amount of time in the field.
• Ethnographers immerse themselves in the lives of
  the people they study and seek to place the
  phenomena studied in their social and cultural
  context.
• Ethnographies are used to study the development
  of systems and work practices/processes.
• Cyber-ethnographies do the same thing in online
  environments

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Action Research

• Canonical AR involves the combination of theory
  and practice through change and reflection in an
  immediate problematic situation within a mutually
  acceptable ethical framework (Avison et al.
  1999), with the dual intention of improving
  practice and contributing to theory and knowledge
  both within and beyond the immediate confines of
  the project (cf. Eden and Huxham, 1996).

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Mixing

• Each of the above sources of data, types of
  analysis, methods, etc. can be mixed with others
• Quantitative qualitative survey interview
  statistical analysis hermeneutic interpretation
• Often, mixing enables one to gain a richer
  understanding of a phenomenon
• But be careful not to violate each methods
  principles and criteria
• Make sure you represent each consistently

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Rigour and Relevance

• Good research needs to aim to satisfy both.
• Relevance
• For whom is the research relevant and why?
• Overly controlled or artificial research may not
  have high levels of relevance
• The audience of the research is a key
  stakeholder for relevance, notably including any
  organisations or managers who can actively use
  the research outcomes

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Rigour

• Sometimes this is assumed to mean positivist or
  scientific research.
• Actually, rigour simply means exactness and
  strict precision
• Benbasat/Zmud define rigour as the correct use
  of methods and analyses appropriate to the tasks
  at hand

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Theory

• There is nothing so practical as a good theory!
  (Lewin, 1945)
• There is nothing so dangerous as a bad theory!
  (Ghoshal, 2005)
• So, clearly we have to handle theory very
  carefully.
• http//www.fsc.yorku.ca/york/istheory/wiki/index.
  php/Main_Page is a major resource for IS theory.

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The Purpose of Theory?

• To provide prescriptions to be followed in
  practice
• To represent how concepts interact (e.g. IT,
  people, organisations)
• To explain how different concepts are related and
  then to create testable hypotheses
• Universal statements designed as nets in which to
  catch the world and master it. (Popper)

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Types of Theory

• Analysis and Description
• What it is. No causality. No prediction.
• Explanation
• What, how, when, why, where. No prediction or
  testable propositions.
• Prediction
• What is and what will be. Testable propositions,
  but not causal explanations
• Design and Action
• How to do. Explicit prescriptions (methods,
  techniques) for action

Gregor, MISQ, 2006
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Examples of Theories Used in IS Research

• Absoprtive capacity
• Actor network
• Adaptive structuration
• Agency
• Behavioural decision
• Chaos
• Cognitive dissonance
• Cognitive fit
• Etc.

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Complete List

• Absorptive capacity theory
• Actor network theory
• Adaptive structuration theory
• Administrative behavior, theory of
• Agency theory
• Argumentation theory
• Behavioral decision theory
• Boundary object theory
• Chaos theory
• Cognitive dissonance theory
• Cognitive fit theory
• Cognitive load theory
• Competitive strategy (Porter)
• Complexity theory
• Contingency theory
• Critical realism theory
• Critical social theory
• Critical success factors, theory of
• Deferred action, theory of

• Embodied social presence theory
• Equity theory
• Evolutionary theory
• Expectation confirmation theory
• Feminism theory
• Fit-Viability theory
• Flow theory
• Game theory
• Garbage can theory
• General systems theory
• General deterrence theory
• Hermeneutics
• Illusion of control
• Impression management, theory of
• Information processing theory
• Institutional theory
• International information systems theory
• Knowledge-based theory of the firm
• Language action perspective

• Media synchronicity theory
• Modal aspects, theory of
• Multi-attribute utility theory
• Organizational culture theory
• Organizational information processing theory
• Organizational knowledge creation
• Organizational learning theory
• Portfolio theory
• Process virtualization theory
• Prospect theory
• Punctuated equilibrium theory
• Real options theory
• Resource-based view of the firm
• Resource dependency theory
• Self-efficacy theory
• SERVQUAL
• Social capital theory
• Social cognitive theory
• Social exchange theory

• Social network theory
• Social shaping of technology
• Socio-technical theory
• Soft systems theory
• Stakeholder theory
• Structuration theory
• Task closure theory
• Task-technology fit
• Technological frames of reference
• Technology acceptance model
• Technology dominance, theory of
• Technology-organization-environment framework
• Theory of planned behavior
• Theory of reasoned action
• Transaction cost economics
• Transactive memory theory
• Unified theory of acceptance and use of
  technology
• Usage control model
• Work systems theory

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Discussion Questions

• In which situations do you think a qualitative
  method might be most practical or useful?
• Be as specific as possible.
• Why is a good theory practical and why is a bad
  theory dangerous?

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References

• Avison, D.E., Lau, F., Myers, M. and Nielsen,
  P.A. (1999) "Action Research", Communications of
  the ACM, 42, 1, 94-97.
• Eden, C. and Huxham, C. (1996) Action Research
  for Management Research, British Journal of
  Management, 7, 1, 75-86.
• Ghoshal, S. (2005) Bad Management Theories are
  Destroying Good Management Practices, Academy of
  Management Learning and Education, 4, 1, 75-91.
• Gregor, S. (2006) The Nature of Theory in
  Information Systems, MIS Quarterly 30(3)
  611-642.Kaplan, B. and Maxwell, J.A. "Qualitative
  Research Methods for Evaluating Computer
  Information Systems," inEvaluating Health Care
  Information Systems Methods and Applications,
  J.G. Anderson, C.E. Aydin and S.J. Jay (eds.),
  Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, 1994, pp. 45-68.Lewin,
  K. (1945) The Research Centre for Group Dynamics
  at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
  Sociometry, 8, 126-135.
• Martin, P.Y. and B.A. Turner. "Grounded Theory
  and Organizational Research," The Journal of
  Applied Behavioral Science, (222), 1986, pp.
  141-157.
• Walsham, G. (1993) Interpreting Information
  Systems in Organisations, Wiley Chichester.
• Yin, R.K. (2003) Case Study Research, Design and
  Methods, Sage Publications