The Historical Research Method and Information Systems Research

2014 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 43

Authors: Porra, Jaana; Hirschheim, Rudy; Parks, Michael S.

Abstract: In this paper, we review the premises and practice of the historical method in o ... Expand

Abstract: In this paper, we review the premises and practice of the historical method in order to understand how it can be applied to studying information systems (IS) related phenomena. We first examine the philosophical and methodological foundations of the method. For this purpose, we introduce a four-tiered research framework, which consists of (1) the paradigmatic or meta-theoretic assumptions that guide historical research, (2) pragmatism as an overarching approach or a way of doing historical research, (3) the historical method as the guiding principles for producing history, and (4) a review of some central techniques IS historians have applied in historical research. For point four, we review how McKenney et al. (1997) and Porra et al. (2005, 2006) applied Mason et al.'s (1997ab) seven steps of doing IS history. Finally, we compare the historical method with other methods applied in the IS field today: We compare the historical method with the longitudinal case study, case study, field study, and ethnography. Collapse

Topics: knowledge representation website Chief Information Officer systems analysis

Methods: archival research case study ethnography field study longitudinal case study

Theories: theory of change

A Dynamic Framework for Classifying Information Systems Development Methodologies and Approaches

2000 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 59

Authors: Iivari, Juhani; Hirschheim, Rudy; Klein, Heinz K.

Abstract: This paper proposes a four-tiered framework for classifying and understanding th ... Expand

Abstract: This paper proposes a four-tiered framework for classifying and understanding the myriad of information systems development methodologies that have been proposed in the literature. The framework is divided into four levels: paradigms, approaches, methodologies, and techniques. This paper primarily focuses on the two intermediate levels: approaches and methodologies. The principal contribution of the framework is in providing a new kind of "deep structure" for better understanding the intellectual core of methodologies and approaches and their interrelationships. It achieves this goal by articulating a parsimonious set of foundational features that are shared by subsets of methodologies and approaches. To illustrate how the framework's deep structure provides a better understanding of methodologies' intellectual core, it is applied to eleven examples. The paper also introduces and illustrates a procedure for "accommodating" and "assimilating" new information systems development methodologies in addition to the eleven already discussed. This procedure provides the framework with the necessary flexibility for handling the continuing proliferation of new methodologies. Collapse

Topics: system development method systems development knowledge representation knowledge work analytical information system

Methods: data modeling cross sectional research design artifact ontological modelling action research

Theories: speech act theory

Is Polyinstantation Morally Blameworthy?

2000 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Siponen, Mikko T

Abstract: In the area of database/computer security the problem of polyinstantiation is wi ... Expand

Abstract: In the area of database/computer security the problem of polyinstantiation is widely recognized. The research on polyinstantiation can be considered morally questionable, since it involves lying. This paper analyses whether the research and practice on the problem of polyinstantiation is morally blameworthy or praiseworthy in a general sense. The morality of polyinstantiation shall be critically analysed from the viewpoint of a moral philosophical framework. The moral philosophical framework used includes 1) Kantian ethics, 2) the "impartial" universality thesis advocated by Hare, Rawls, Gewirth, JewishChristian ethics, and Confucian ethics, 3) utilitarianism, and 4) Theory of Information Ethics (IE) by Floridi. The result of this analysis suggests that polyinstantiation is morally questionable, at least in the light of the chosen moral philosophical theories. The aim of the paper is not, however, to deem polyinstantiation as morally wrong altogether, but to provide researchers and practitioners with tools and insights for analysing the morality of polyinstantiation in different cases. Moreover, this paper sheds new light on the relevance of IE. The results suggest that, as far as polyinstantiation is concerned, traditional theories seem to be at least as adequate as IE. Collapse

Topics: misinformation

Methods: conceptual analysis

Theories: ethical theory philosophical theory theory of information

Organization Studies and the New Pragmatism: Positivism, Anti-positivism, and the Search for Ethics

1998 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Wicks, Andrew C.; Freeman, R. Edward

Abstract: The central claim of this paper is that organization studies needs to be fundame ... Expand

Abstract: The central claim of this paper is that organization studies needs to be fundamentally reshaped. Such change is needed to provide room for ethics and to increase the relevance of research. We argue that the new pragmatism provides critical resources for this change. Pragmatism is a particularly helpful tool to use in that it highlights the moral dimensions of organizing (is this useful for our purposes'?) while at the same time avoiding entrenched epistemological distinctions that marginalize ethics and make research less useful. The paper begins by discussing the relative absence of ethics within the mainstream of organization studies, indicates why this relative absence is problematic, and proceeds to show how pragmatism offers a preferable approach. Epistemology--specifically the debate between positivists and anti-positivists--becomes a central issue because the framework of positivism is overtly hostile to ethics (and other nonquantitative approaches to studying organizations), rendering it a marginal subject. While anti-positivism holds promise for overcoming this hostility towards ethics, it retains some of the destructive elements of positivism that create new and equally troubling difficulties. The paper claims, in contrast to the proposals of others (e.g., Zald's 1993 position) that the preferred alternative is not to split the difference, but to move beyond the positivism vs. antipositivism debate and work from an alternative framework. Pragmatism allows researchers to put this debate to the side and, in the process, develop research that is focused on serving human purposes--i.e., both morally rich and useful to organizations and the communities in which they operate. Collapse

Methods: theory development

The Emergence of Interpretivism in IS Research

1995 | Information Systems Research | Citations: 311

Authors: Walsham, Geoff

Abstract: This paper investigates aspects of the history and current state of interpretivi ... Expand

Abstract: This paper investigates aspects of the history and current state of interpretivism in IS research. The emergence of interpretivism is explored through the identification of a network of IS researchers working in the interpretive tradition, through an examination of the role of mainstream and alternative IS journals, and through an analysis of the rhetoric used to support interpretive claims. The paper contributes to analysis of the development of the IS field as a whole, and provides some conceptual ideas and a reference point for further work in this relatively neglected area of research. Collapse

Topics: accounting IS management systems design IS discipline soft systems methodology

Methods: ethnography field study design methodology qualitative content analysis case study

Theories: soft systems theory