A STRATEGY FOR BECOMING A WORLD-CLASS SCHOLAR IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS1
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A STRATEGY FOR BECOMING
A WORLD-CLASS SCHOLAR IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS1
Gordon B. Davis
Honeywell Professor of Management Information Systems
Carlson School of Management
University of Minnesota
ABSTRACT
I am frequently asked by new academics what they should do to get promoted and
establish themselves as scholars in the field. The academics have a way of stating the
issue: “Publish or perish.” What does it mean for a research and publication
strategy? Also, I get inquiries from practitioners about academic experts on a certain
topic. They frequently comment about the lack of research on the “real” problems.
This paper will describe a research and publication strategy that has a high
probability of success in turning a young academic into a respected world-class
scholar and achieving promotion and tenure. The strategy also provides insight for
practitioners who wish to identify good scholars in a given subject area and
encourage relevant research.
The paper is written as a tutorial for doctoral students and faculty members in
information systems, but it can provide reminders for experienced researchers as
well.
THE ACADEMIC SETTING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL STRATEGY
The academic world can be divided into three types of institutions: those that emphasize research,
those that emphasize teaching, and those that are ambivalent. The institutions may talk the same way
about the need for teaching, research, and service, but the reward structure is different. For example,
the reward system for research institutions is based on research. Teaching is still valued in the
research institution, but teaching is a screening rather than a reward factor. In other words, poor
teaching will be detrimental to promotion, but good teaching will bring praise rather than promotion.
Likewise, unwillingness to perform minimal service may be detrimental, but high levels of service
will not bring promotion. The emphasis of this paper is on research and becoming a world-class
scholar.
1
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Seminar on Current Trends in MIS Research, August 1, 1987,
Department of Information Systems and Computer Science, National University of Singapore.
1The direction in the major universities of the world is to emphasize research. Research implies
publications. To do research without publishing the results is like giving a musical concert to an
empty hall: it is personally instructive and rewarding, but no one else benefits and no one will
appreciate or reward you for it.
The best universities and the best departments are becoming world-class. They network and have
influence in a world-wide scholarly community. The world-class scholars may come from a variety
of public and private universities in various countries. They tend to read the same scholarly journals
and attend the same scholarly conferences. To be a world-class scholar, you must become a part of
the world-wide network of scholars. The only sure route for entry into the network is by research and
publications. At the same time, your value in the field and worth in the network depends on other
factors as well.
A LONG TERM PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
One of the issues in organizations is the development of personnel so they become more valuable
through years of service. However, the basic competence for most jobs is found in new graduates
of universities and other training institutions. A new engineer has as good or better knowledge of
engineering than an engineer with many years on the job. The older employee has more experience,
but the critical elements of experience can be gained fairly quickly.
How then can a person become more valuable with years of service? In a research program involving
engineers and other professionals, Dalton, Thompson and Price (1977) identified factors that cause
some employees to be more valuable than others. Their model can be usefully applied to many
professionals, including researchers. The model suggests four stages of professional development
with the employee becoming more and more valuable as he or she progresses to higher stages:
• APPRENTICE. At the apprentice stage, the person works competently but always under
supervision. There is little initiative or risk taking in activities. Some people remain apprentices
for their entire life; others develop very slowly in independence. Advancement to the next stage
comes when an apprentice demonstrates independent, individual competence and initiative.
A researcher is an apprentice in the first job after schooling at a university or research institute.
Technical competence is assumed, but independent competence has yet to be demonstrated.
• COLLEAGUE. To be in the colleague stage, the person has done some significant jobs very
competently, so others view him or her as having ability to do other jobs as well. The jobs where
competence was demonstrated may vary, but they should be viewed as important by others in the
organization.
For a researcher, being a major part of a research project demonstrating individual responsibility
and initiative in competently completing the research and publishing the results establish
2credentials as a colleague. Part of the process of becoming a colleague is establishing a network
of colleagues who are engaged in the same type of research.
• MENTOR. The person at this stage takes on the responsibility for helping apprentices and
colleagues to develop. One of the ways a mentor can assist is in helping them contact people who
can aid them in the problems they face. A mentor will tend to have many contacts and friends
within the organization and these facilitate the mentor role.
For a researcher, the mentor relationship means taking some responsibility for bringing young
researchers into projects, critiquing their work, and introducing them to others in the organization
or in the specialized research area.
• SPONSOR. The person who reaches this stage has developed a large network of professional
contacts both inside and outside the organization. The person has also established an ability to
deal with the problems of organizing and managing projects.
For a researcher, the network of contacts includes many in other fields and disciplines, funding
agencies, and those having responsibility for decisions about research projects.
The research indicates that an apprentice has the lowest value to the organization and the sponsor
the highest. This suggests a development strategy for a researcher:
• Look for and take opportunities for independent work on projects of significant scope, so others
in the organization will recognize one s competence and status as a colleague (years 1-4).
• Actively build a network of contacts, first emphasizing the specific area of research (years 1-4),
next expanding into the organization (years 4-8), and then emphasizing a larger sphere of
influence (years 8 and beyond).
• Take on the role of mentoring. Develop and use a network of professional colleagues (years 6
and beyond).
• Build competence in managing projects and expand the network of contacts that aid in attracting
funds and support for research projects (years 8 and beyond).
The stages have been presented as discrete periods but, in reality, persons move directionally through
the stages on the basis of periodic experiences and events. A person can manage progression to a
great extent because many of the experiences and events that cause (and signal) stages are under the
control of the individual.
3ESTABLISHING A PERSONAL NETWORK OF COLLEAGUES
The stage model and other parts of the strategy for becoming a good scholar emphasize the value of
developing a personal network of contacts in the field. Some examples are:
• A network of faculty members in the same university but in different departments who share
interests related to research topics in information systems. This network is developed by taking
the initiative to search out faculty members who appear to have interests in common with you.
• A network of local and regional faculty members in the information systems field. This network
is developed by attending local and regional meetings of professional societies dealing with
information systems. Giving talks and presenting papers at professional meetings aids in making
the contacts. Publishing in the local and regional journals and newsletters is another approach.
• A network of faculty members in information systems around the world. These networks can be
developed by taking study leaves in these locations and working to have many contacts. Another
way is to deliver papers or attend without a paper the major conferences where academics and
other researchers meet. The best general conference for information systems academics is the
International Conference on Information Systems. A third method is to become active in one of
the working groups of IFIP. Technical Committee 8 (Information Systems) is the committee
most relevant to this audience. It has five working groups.
A PERSONAL RESEARCH STRATEGY
This section will describe how to define a personal research strategy. A doctoral student may think
such a strategy begins with the first position. The best approach is to develop a ten year strategy soon
after entering a doctoral program. If not defined while a doctoral student, do it as soon as possible.
The ten year time frame is based on a strategy that guides the last three years of doctoral studies
(including the dissertation), the first five years in the first position, and two years beyond that critical
review. The strategy of five years in the first position is because most (but not all) tenure systems
require a decision by the end of the sixth year, so that the seventh year can be the final year if tenure
is not granted. The review process begins in the sixth year, so only the work performed in the first
five years has any impact on the review.
In the ten year strategy, the doctoral studies coursework prepares the student for the research. The
doctoral dissertation is the first of an expected stream of research extending seven years beyond.
The ten year plan can be structured around a fairly broad topic of interest. The exact topics to be
researched can emerge over the period.
4The concept of a ten year doctoral student strategy is an ideal. In many cases, the student cannot see
a longer research stream, and to require such a long term strategy might prevent progress. In other
words, there must be a balance between the ideal of a ten year strategy and the practical issue of
completion.
A good personal research strategy rests on seven ideas or principles:
• Research needs in the field l Personal interests and preferences
• Personal competence
• Personal comparative advantage
• Personal research portfolio planning
• Cumulative effect of research
• Opportunistic action
The personal strategy is to identify the needs in the field, match these with personal interests and
preferences, and constrain the choices by considering personal competence and personal comparative
advantage. The choices are made from those passing the screening to reflect a balanced portfolio
based on time required, risk, potential for real contribution, “hot topic,” and availability of resources
and data access. The selections also should reflect a strategy to have several projects that have a
cumulative effect and establish the researcher s competence. The strategy is a rational process, but
many times a good research project is selected because there was an opportunity, even though it does
not fit the plan.
Outlining Research Needs in the Field
It is useful to develop a taxonomy for broad areas of research needs for the field. The broad
taxonomy aids in selecting an area of focus. The research needs or research questions can come from
articles, discussions with practitioners, consulting, prior research, and conference proceedings
dealing with research questions.
A taxonomy of the field of information systems is attached in Appendix A. It may not include all
possible topics but is a useful starting point for outlining the research needs of the field.
Two examples of information system research taxonomies that are useful in generating ideas for
research are:
• The Mason and Mitroff (1953) definition of an information system:
A PERSON of a certain PSYCHOLOGICAL TYPE who faces a PROBLEM within
some ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT for which he needs EVIDENCE to arrive
at a solution where the evidence is made available through some MODE OF
PRESENTATION.
5• The Ives, Hamilton and Davis (1980) taxonomy of information, systems research developed to
classify dissertations and to generate ideas.
Personal Interests and Competence
The survey of the research needs defines a large number of general areas and may identify a number
of research topics. Only some of these will fit the personal interests of the researcher. When
individual competence is considered, only a few general areas will remain.
Basic competence can be obtained with little difficulty, so basic competence should not be a
deterrent. When the research requires significant experience, this may be a deterrent.
Comparative Advantage
Each researcher has some skills, expertise, or access to data that provide a comparative advantage
to most other researchers. This comparative advantage develops over time and should be exploited.
Personal Research Portfolio Planning
The concept of an investment portfolio can be applied to a set of research projects. There should
always be a search for creativity and originality. Risk factors such as the following should then be
considered.
• Completion risk. How likely is it the project can be completed?
• Output risk. How long will the project take to produce a meaningful research result?
• Performance risk. How likely is it the researcher can do a good job?
• Contribution risk. How likely is the result to be considered as a scholarly contribution or a
contribution to practice?
• Publication risk. Are the results likely to be publishable?
A researcher may have two or three research projects in the portfolio at a given time, so there is no
need for sophisticated analysis. The main point is to consider these risks and balance the short term
projects against longer term ones.
6Cumulative Effect of Research
A researcher who wishes to be recognized for good research in an area should plan to achieve a
cumulative result from the research. Research should not be a set of random projects that show no
coherent thrust. Projects should build upon one another and establish the researcher as an expert (a
colleague). The cumulative research approach also supports the building of a mentor role and
extending one’s influence.
Opportunistic Action
The value of a planning process to get a sense of direction and to establish priorities. The plan should
not prevent opportunistic action. Opportunities for good research will come in unexpected ways at
unexpected times. It is always a good idea to evaluate opportunities and not be convinced by the
glitter of a great or glamorous chance. Yet one should not put things off when a good opportunity
arrives. Two personal examples illustrate what I mean:
• Service with an organization that serves mainly auditors was not in my plan, but when I was
offered the opportunity I decided to take it. During the fifteen months I spent in New York, I
conducted a state-of-the-art study of auditing and computers. This established me as an authority
in the field and opened many other opportunities.
• When I was offered the opportunity to go to Belgium for eighteen months to help start up the
European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management, I first said I could not go because I had
so many things to do. In examining the constraints that existed at the time and comparing them
with a similar list for a year later, I discovered they were identical. The year was very productive.
I revised Computer Data Processing, wrote a classic book, Management Information Systems,
and wrote a monograph on Writing the Doctoral Dissertation.
KNOWING YOUR RESEARCH STRENGTHS
Research comes in a number of varieties. Rather than focusing on the variety of research methods,
a more fundamental issue is for individuals to discover their own talents in the activities of research.
I characterize these activities and talents as:
• Theorize-synthesize
• Design
• Manage
• Report
7Everyone has some ability for performing each of these, but some are better than others. The reason
for identifying these activities and the related talents is to encourage group research in which
complementary skills are brought together to achieve a result that is better than research done alone.
Theorize-synthesize. This activity takes existing ideas and formulates new ideas and frameworks.
The person who is very good at this has a broad vision of the world and seeks ideas from many
fields. He or she also has high creativity and ideaphoria (lots of ideas). Out of the disorder of many
observations, experiments, articles and reports, the theorizer-synthesizer makes a framework or a
theory that brings order and sets the direction for future research.
Design. The designer of research thinks how to get data and other evidence so ideas and theories
may be empirically accepted or rejected. Some people can visualize experiments or experimental
systems and provide the design for research.
Manage. There is a strong managerial aspect in research projects involving experiments or field
study. Attention to detail and human relations skills in dealing with organizations and subjects are
required for this task.
Report. The report task is to explain clearly a research project and define its contribution. Clarity
in exposition is the important talent for this activity.
DEVELOPING RESEARCH IDEAS
In many parts of the university, academic life is almost a closed system. Scholars talk to scholars,
do research on the same set of problems, and publish for each other. They develop a jargon and a
way of doing things that excludes anyone who is not part of their field. There may be some fields
in the university where this is appropriate; being closed is not good for information systems.
There is no substitute for a passionate interest in your field and fields that may intersect. Don t be
too narrow. Creative, innovative ideas frequently arise at the intersection of disciplines. Ideas and
practices from other disciplines often prompt great thoughts in your own.
Information systems is an applied field. That does not mean that it does not have theory or have lots
of very esoteric academic research possibilities. However, the reason for its existence is to provide
research and instruction for a field of societal endeavor. There is a practitioner community. The
problem is how to keep in touch with the problems of practitioners and use them to energize your
own thinking and creativity.
The value of keeping in touch with information systems practice is stated simply in a set of
propositions:
8CONSULTING provides relevant TEACHING MATERIALS that aid better
teaching and can be used for WRITING PRACTITIONER ARTICLES
CONSULTING provides relevant RESEARCH IDEAS, aids ACCESS TO
RESEARCH DATA, and leads to RESEARCH ARTICLES. It may also aid in
RESEARCH FUNDING
These two propositions support the idea of getting practical experience and for keeping in touch with
practitioners. Some ways are:
• Consultation
• Directing student projects in industry
• Inviting practitioners to give lectures on selected topics to your classes
• Teaching courses for practitioners (and getting them to interact about their problems)
• Attendance and participation in professional meetings having practitioner attendance
• Leaves in industry, both short term and long term
DECIDING ON A RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research methodology should fit the research question, but research can be conducted in a
variety of ways. For example, assume the research question is “Why do managers resist the use of
decision support systems?” There are a variety of ways meaningful research might be conducted.
• Unsupported speculation. Formulation of explanations of decision support resistance based on
a general knowledge of organizations and information systems and a general knowledge of the
literature. Sometimes this activity can be very valuable; other times it is worthless.
• Library research. A comprehensive examination of existing research that bears on the topic and
a building of explanatory arguments with supporting references.
• Case study. An in-depth examination of the behavior of one (or a small number) of executives
relative to their use of decision support systems.
• Survey. A questionnaire or interview method to ask executives about their experiences with
decision support systems.
9• Field study. By questionnaires, interviews, and observations, data on variables expected to be
important in determining behavior relative to decision support systems are collected. Analysis
is by standard statistical methods of correlation and determining significant differences.
• Field experiment. A decision support system is proposed for an organization and studied as it is
implemented under somewhat controlled conditions.
• Laboratory experiment. An experiment in the use of a decision support system is developed,
subjects observed, and data measurements collected in a controlled setting.
• Mathematical modeling. An abstract model of executive behavior is proposed. Functional
relationships are defined between organizational events and stimuli and organizational and
executive responses. Assumptions are made and the consequences of these assumptions are
examined.
The point is that the entire range of research methods might be applied to the same problem area.
The question is how to select a starting point. A reasonable starting point is always a survey of the
literature. A next logical step is a case study in an organization to establish reality for future research.
After the case study, other research methods may be selected based on funding, timing, etc. In
general, surveys are most useful in the early stages of research or to establish or re-establish the state
of practice. Field experiments are very difficult because the experimenter has little control over the
organization. Laboratory experiments have the advantage of control over variables but they usually
lack the richness of the work setting. Mathematical modeling has limited applicability in problems
where behavior cannot be modeled.
STARTING RESEARCH IN A NEW AREA
The range of research methods suggests a strategy for initiating a new research area:
1. Literature review to write a survey paper for the field – primarily on the state of the art and the
state of practice.
2. Case study in an organization or some period of observation of the phenomenon in its
organizational setting. Case report for teaching or to illustrate research papers.
3. Paper outlining the state of research with weakness and needs defined. A proposal for a stream
of research is described.
4. A field survey of practice if little is known; otherwise, begin with experiments. One of the first
experiments maybe to replicate in a different setting, a different culture, or for a different kind
of subject one or more well-known experiment reported in the literature. The results of the
replication maybe reported if meaningful.
105. After a set of experiments, synthesize the concept, knowledge and research results in the area
being researched. Explain the implications of research being summarized and define needs for
further research. This can be a seminal paper for a topic.
WHERE TO PUBLISH
There are four types of publication outlets: scholarly journals, practitioner journals, conference
proceedings, and books. Each of these has a role in populating a scholarly portfolio.
Scholarly Journals
Academics rank journals by their scholarly reputation. An article appearing in a journal is thus
implicitly or explicitly assigned a scholarly value consisting of the merits of the article times the
merits of the journal. The most valued scholarly journals have a formal peer refereeing process, a
reputation for publishing good articles, and a high readership among the relevant scholarly
community. This peer refereeing process is performed by three or more scholars in the field. The
acceptance rate for the best journals is about 15% to 20%. Very few articles are accepted without
some revision. The style of the scholarly articles places emphasis on the research methodology rather
than the value of the results for practice.
It is important to target the best journal that is read by the scholars you want to reach with your
article. There are both general and specialized academic journals for a discipline. By knowing the
best, you can make judgments about alternatives. The top rated general academic journals in
information systems are:
• Communications of the ACM (CACM)
• Management Science
• MIS Quarterly
• Information Systems Research (ISR)
There are other excellent, high quality general IS journals, but these are the major ones (at this time).
Changes in editorial policy may change rankings. For example, CACM has historically published
IS research but it is now interested only in articles having broad, general interest. ISR is a new
journal, so placing it in the major journals reflects some judgment.
Since many articles are targeted at a type of reader or a specific audience, a more specialized journal
may do a better job of reaching them. There are very high quality specialized journals with high
standards enforced by good refereeing. A top ranked journal targeted at survey articles is Computing
Surveys. Well regarded specific journals are the transactions journals of the ACM and IEEE.
Examples are ACM Transactions on Database Systems (TODS) and ACM Transactions on Software
11Engineering Methodologies (TOSEM). Scholars in an area should be able to identify the top three
specialized journals for publishing research.
Practitioner Journals
Practitioner journals are generally accorded little academic merit for promotion. There are some
exceptions, such as the Harvard Business Review. This does not mean they have no value for an
academic; it means they have a different purpose and different reward than the academic journals.
Their purpose is to disseminate ideas (based on research when possible) on how to improve practice.
They provide a method for linking academics and practitioners; identifying academic expertise for
practitioners, identifying practitioner interest and expertise, establishing relevance of research and
surfacing ideas for research (based on practice). Datamation presents an interesting case in terms
of evaluation. It has a huge practitioner audience, but its contents are a mixture of thoughtful articles
and trivia. On balance, however, it is a useful vehicle for communicating with practitioners.
Proceedings
Proceedings of most conferences and seminars do not do much for academic promotion, but again
they have a different kind of value. Their value is in exposing ideas and getting feedback. Good
ideas that are presented at conferences can be refined and published in the regular journals. If the
conference is well attended and the proceedings are highly regarded (such as the Proceedings of the
International Conference on Information Systems), an article in them may have a higher promotion
value.
Books
Books can be textbooks or trade (practitioner) texts. There are two kinds of textbooks: those that
innovate in some way and those that imitate. The text can be written for either elementary or
advanced courses. These characteristics form a 2 x 2 matrix for textbook rewards.
Types of Course Where Used
Standard Advanced
The market place gives you Doing it better may be given
Imitate
Content your reward. recognition by colleagues
and Combination of market Major factor in colleague
Presentation Innovative place and colleague recognition.
recognition.
12For example, I rank the first editions of every book I have written as an innovative book. The second
edition for most of my textbooks cannot be classed as an innovation because the market moved
toward what I had done. Being classed as innovative is dependent upon the rest of the market. A
signification exception is the MIS book, Management Information Systems: Conceptual
Foundations, Structure, and Development. The second edition remains an innovative book that
straddles the standard and advanced markets.
A good standard textbook is a big undertaking and should probably be left until your basic reputation
is established. If you want to write one, my opinion is that you should have a comparative advantage
for better pedagogical presentation or a significant comparative advantage as a writer.
Trade books aimed at practitioners have a role similar to articles in practitioner journals. They are
useful in communicating to practitioners but have low value for scholarship. There are, of course,
notable exceptions. A practitioner book that is innovative and makes a significant impact on practice
may gain academic standing.
A GROUP STRATEGY FOR RESEARCH
Faculty members tend to be individualistic; some of the reasons they like to be faculty members are
individual responsibility and freedom. They don’t like committees and a lot of structure. However,
there is a need for some group effort to leverage the work individual faculty members and graduate
students.
The approach is very simple. When there are two or more faculty members who have an interest in
an area of investigation, do a short working paper together to define the area of interest and invite
others to join in a research group. The group is informal with only a convener to handle simple
announcements and housekeeping tasks and a discussion leader. The group establishes a regular
meeting time (weekly, biweekly, or monthly). At each meeting, there is a discussion of items such
as the following, all within the context of aiding each other in doing good research.
• A draft of a research proposal from one of the group.
• A draft of an article by one of the group.
• Outstanding current articles on the topic of interest.
• “Classic” articles on the topic of interest.
• Practitioner-led discussion of practitioner needs.
There should be more than one such research group in existence in a faculty group. An optimal
number may depend on the general level of research activity. A low activity faculty might have one
group for each eight to ten faculty members; a high activity faculty might have a group for each four
or five faculty members.
13If a group does not produce results, it is allowed to die and another group is formed. Under such a
plan, each faculty member is actively part of at least one group.
THE ROLE OF PRACTITIONERS IN PROMOTING GOOD
INFORMATION SYSTEM RESEARCH
There are two reasons a thoughtful information systems practitioner might take the initiative to
promote good research at the university. The first is that a good department attracts good students
who make good employees, and the way to make a good department is to get good people and
encourage them to be active researchers. The second is that a good research department will attract
good faculty who will be a resource for problem solving, consulting, and in-house teaching.
A good approach for a practitioner interested in promoting excellence through research is to offer
the following opportunities to faculty members:
• An opportunity to meet with staff to discuss the needs of practice and to review the problems
they encounter.
• An opportunity to collect research data in the organization. This might range from case studies
to field tests. In all cases, the ground rules for this interaction can be permission to start a project
and permission to identify the organization in a report. It is always possible to disguise the
organization, but often the identity of the organization makes the results more meaningful. For
example, a large worldwide study of organizational culture was published without identifying
the organization as IBM; reading the report is much more meaningful if the person knows it was
IBM.
• Provide opportunities for faculty members to take leaves in industry. One of the characteristics
of a university is the idea that every so often, a faculty member should take a leave and go some
other place. The “other place” is usually thought of as another university, but it can be a research
organization or a position in the information systems function in an organization.
It is helpful for practitioners to have some expectations about acceptance of ideas. My experience
is that about one out of four practitioner ideas for research can be profitably carried out. Often, the
actual research project is a small issue within a larger practitioner problem.
SUMMARY
To be a professor in a major research university, one must do research and publish research findings
in major refereed journals. To develop practitioner contacts and maintain a free flow of ideas from
the practitioner community, faculty must publish in practitioner journals and participate in
professional meetings.
14The strategy for an individual increases his or her worth to the organization. This strategy consists
of searching out and accepting opportunities that develop experience, demonstrate individual
competence early in a career, develop ability to mentor, and result in an expanding circle of
professional contacts and colleagues (expanding to related fields and administrative bodies). The
expanding circle of colleagues is achieved by regular attendance at conferences and by giving papers.
A researcher can be more effective by knowing his or her comparative strengths for the tasks
required for research. These include theorize-synthesize, design, manage, and report. A research and
publications strategy requires some planning although unplanned opportunistic choices are not
excluded. The planning is based on considerations such as the following:
• Research needs in the field
• Personal interests and preferences
• Personal competence
• Personal comparative advantage
• Personal research portfolio planning
• Cumulative effect of research
There are many research methodologies from which to select. As part of the development of a new
research area, it is useful to do library research to define what has been done and to do case research
to gain practical insight. Survey research is valuable at certain times in the development of a research
area. Research involving observations and experiments is valuable at another stage.
Developing research projects can come through academic interaction, but in information systems,
it is also vital to seek research ideas from the problems of the practitioners. This requires interaction
with practitioners.
The individual research strategy is supplemented by a group research strategy to provide leverage
and quality assurance for individual research projects. The voluntary establishment and maintenance
of research groups is a desirable way of getting synergism within the faculty.
REFERENCES
Dalton, G. W.; Thompson, P. H.; and Price, R. L. “The Four Stages of Professional Careers: A New
Look at Performance by Professionals.” Organizational Dynamics, Summer 1977.
Ives, B.; Harnilton, S.; and Davis, G. B. “A Framework for Research in Computer-Based
Management Information Systems.” Management Science, 26:9, September 1980, pp. 910-934.
Mason, R. O., and Mitroff, I. I. “A Program for Research on Management Information Systems.”
Management Science, 19:5, 1953, pp. 475-485.
15APPENDIX A
TOPICS THAT DEFINE THE FIELD OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The topics that follow define the field of Information Systems (also described by terms such as
Management Information Systems, Organizational Information Systems, and Information
Management). These topics are not necessarily unique to Information Systems; they may be included
in the fields of Computer Science, Management Science, Cognitive Psychology, etc. However, the
topics listed are within the context of information systems in organizations rather than being a topic
of interest outside of any specific context or primarily within the context of another discipline. Note:
Hardware, software, and communications technology for information systems represent underlying
knowledge rather than topics of primary interest. Information systems professors and practitioners
require a knowledge of the technology, however, their major interest is in the application of the
technology rather than the development of new or improved technology.
1. Information technology and organizational strategy
1.1 Information technology in organizational tasks
1.2 Information technology in services and products
1.3 Information technology in systems that change intra and inter organizational relationships
1.4 Information technology in organizational transformation
1.5 Role of information technology functions in organizational design
1.6 Organizational design and information technology infrastructure
1.7 Comparative roles and activities of end-users versus information technology specialists
1.8 Information technology and knowledge work
2. Organization and management of the information systems function
2.1 Organization of the information systems function
2.2 Management of the information systems function including subfunctions such as
computer operations, data administration, application development, information centers,
etc.
2.3 Planning of information systems including alignment with strategy of the organization
and planning for competitive advantage with information systems.
2.4 Diffusion of information technology in an organization
2.5 Allocation of information systems resources
2.6 Application development project management
2.7 Economics of information systems and organizational value of information systems
2.8 Evaluating information systems
3. Specifications for and requirements of classes of systems common to organizations (included
in the general concept of management information systems)
3.1 Transaction processing systems
3.2 Applications for management of operations, management control, and strategic planning
3.3 Decision support systems
3.4 Executive support systems
163.5 Office automation systems
3.6 Expert systems
3.7 Coordination systems (electronic mail, messaging and group support)
3.8 Inter-organizational information systems
4. Information system application requirements
4.1 Human/machine interface requirements (including human information processing limits
and behaviors)
4.2 Social system requirements socio-technical analysis)
4.3 Decision requirements (considering human differences)
4.4 Procedural requirements (considering human and organizational differences)
4.5 Eliciting and validating information systems requirements
4.6 Measuring value of information to recipients
5. Information systems development, implementation, and maintenance
5.1 Systems theory and theory of artifacts applied to information systems, application design,
development, etc.
5.2 Participation in application design
5.3 Application development methods and methodologies (including prototyping and use of
package software)
5.4 Application software design and development (including use of CASE)
5.5 Application software testing and quality assurance
5.6 Application software maintenance
5.7 Programming languages for application programming
5.8 Object-oriented design and programming
5.9 Retrieval and report generation
5.10 End-user computing software and applications
5.11 Implementation of information systems
5.12 User information satisfaction
5.13 Training in information system use
6. Development and maintenance of databases for organizations and design of record structures
for applications. Emphasis of the information systems field is on logical design rather than
physical design.
6.1 Data modeling
6.2 Logical database design
6.3 Data administration function
6.4 Security and integrity controls for databases
6.5 Data structures and relationship to applications
7. Development and maintenance of knowledge bases, text bases, and multi-media systems for
organizational use
7.1 Knowledge engineering
177.2 Expert system development
7.3 Text-based systems
7.4 Multi-media systems
8. Impact/interaction of information systems, information systems technology and applications
on humans in various settings.
8.1 Effect on individual users
8.2 Effect on group performance and group behavior
8.3 Effect on organizations including management and supervision structures and behaviors
8.4 Effect on society and societal interactions
8.5 Legal and ethical issues
9. Information systems personnel
9.1 Recruitment and selection of information systems personnel
9.2 Training of information systems personnel
9.3 Motivation and job satisfaction of information systems personnel
9.4 Performance evaluation
9.5 Career management for information systems personnel
10. Control, audit, and security for information systems
10.1 Error control and quality assurance in operation of computer applications
10.2 Human performance and errors in application use
10.3 Forms of fraudulent use and security violations
10.4 Security principles and security mechanisms for information processing installation,
facilities, applications, and data
10.5 Audit procedures and use of audit tools and techniques in the computer information
systems environment
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