The applicability of Information System Ontology to Design Science Research

Although Design Science Research (DSR) is gaining prominence within the Information System (IS) discipline as a valid research paradigm, it is methodologically yet in its genesis. DSR’s lack of detailed, specific and prescriptive methodological guidance is particularly felt by novice DSR researchers. Motivated by this observed methodological shortcoming, the goal underpinning this study is to validate a detailed DSR methodology – the DSR Roadmap (Alturki et al., 2011). This paper more narrowly considers the applicability and suitability of IS deep structure ontology to Information System Design Science Research IS DSR, and related potential for enriching the DSR Roadmap. The ontology of the deep structure of IS is suggested to be integrated into IS DSR as it supports design aspects that design researchers need to complete in Design Research. The paper demonstrates how the IS deep structure ontology constructs can be used in Design Research to formulate complete design specifications, which constitute and then implement the content of Information System Design Theory (ISDT) elements. The inclusion of IS deep structure ontology into the DSR Roadmap is achieved by mapping between the IS deep structure ontology constructs and the ISDT elements. The benefits from the inclusion of IS deep structure ontology into IS DSR is twofold. The first is that the inclusion makes the construction of Design Theory (ISDT) easier by generalizing the content of the IS deep structure ontology constructs. The second is that IS deep structure ontology establishes a common language that helps the design researchers better, specifically, and more easily communicate their designs to the practitioners. This helps to operationalize ISDT in a particular context dealing with a specific problem. The first and second benefits represent an abstraction and instantiation, respectively.