Philosophical Foundations of Information Systems (PFIS) Doctoral Workshop

This IS and Philosophy mini-track, now in its tenth year, continues very successfully from its beginnings within the inaugural 1996 AMCIS/AIS conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This mini-track is now included in the track sponsored by the SIG “Philosophy and Epistemology of IS”created in 2002. Many leading IS scholars from Europe, UK, USA, and Australia, have, over the years, participated in this mini-track. Over the last 2 years, at AMCIS Tampa and New York, this mini-track has examined its history with a view to moving forward and creating new opportunities for participants to explore ideas and areas relevant to PFIS. As a result of requests by our PhD student group members at AMCIS Tampa and New York, this workshop addresses the theme of “Philosophical Understanding of Research Approaches in the Field of Information Systems/Technology”. Students participating in this workshop have submitted a position paper of 1000 words (based on the student’s understanding of how PFIS is relevant to the research approach used within current dissertation work) and it is these papers that have formed the basis of the workshop theme, direction and structure. The workshop was devised and led by the PFIS mini-track co-chairs (Prof. James Courtney, Prof. John Haynes & Dr Deborah Bunker). This workshop was designed and structured to generate a dialog with students about their understanding of how philosophy underpins their dissertation research. The workshop has also been recorded and a working paper on important areas of focus for students in this area, is available for general distribution from Prof. J. Courtney ([email protected]). Philosophy is an established and vast field, as compared to our fledgling area of information systems and many of the PFIS group student members have expressed an interest in better understanding the philosophical underpinnings of their work. This workshop has been founded on the belief that we have hardly begun to tap the potential of philosophy in our work, especially in developing a more robust foundation for what we do. Our students are the future of our work and as such, should have the opportunity to explore ideas in PFIS with each other and more experienced researchers.