Validation Guidelines for IS Positivist Research

Validation Guidelines for IS Positivist Research

Fourteen years ago, Straub (1989) raised the issue of whether IS positivist researchers were sufficiently validating their instruments. Since then, the IS profession has been exposed to many opportunities and challenges. E-Commerce has risen in prominence. Other management trends have passed through their cycles. Our new professional society, the Association of Information Systems, has been for...

Using Action Research for Positivist Research

Investigating Information Systems with Positivist Case Research

This paper offers a rigorous step-by-step methodology for developing theories and contains specific and detailed guidelines for IS researchers to follow in carrying out positivist case studies. The methodology is largely inspired by the work of Yin [2003], Eisenhardt [1989], Miles and Huberman [1994] and several others who are strong proponents of and have wide experience in this research appro...

Publishing Information Systems Action Research for a Positivist Audience

Action research is particularly valuable for its ability to inform theory while making a practical difference. Special issues of MISQ in 2004 and Information Technology and People in 2001 called attention both to action research and research methodology. Yet action research is not widely disseminated across the information systems discipline. The purpose of this tutorial is to advance informati...

Positivist Information Systems Action Research: Methodological Issues

We discuss the cyclical nature of action research (AR) in information systems (IS) and contrast it with other research approaches commonly used in IS. Often those who conduct AR investigations build on their professional expertise to provide a valuable service to a client organization while at the same time furthering knowledge in their academic fields. AR is usually conducted using an interpre...