Diversity in Collaborative Information Systems (IS) Research Methods: Academic Breadth or 'Re-Inventing the Wheel'?

Three examples of collaborative research methods, Action Research (AR), Design Science (DS), and Participatory Design (PD), have been applied successfully in Information Systems (IS) research. This paper investigates whether research projects which are prominently published under one method also meet the characteristics of the respective 'other two' methods and could thus also be published under those methods. For instance, we examine whether a project conducted and published as DS work could also be classified and appear as AR or PD. The paper first outlines characteristics of the three methods along their (1) research contribution, (2) roots, and (3) methodological guidelines. It then applies text analysis to fifteen selected publications, five for each method, AR, DS, or PD. The paper finds that research projects applying different methods demonstrate remarkable similarities concerning research contributions, roots, and methodological guidelines, but use different terminologies, also maintaining methodspecific publication outlets and communities.