Cross-discipline research requires researchers to understand many concepts outside their own discipline. Computing has increased in our everyday lives to the point that “ubiquitous computing” has become an entry in the Wikipedia (Wikepedia). Research is no different. Researchers outside of computer networkrelated disciplines must account for the effects of network-based information systems on their research. This article presents a model to aid researchers with the tasks of properly identifying the elements and effects of a network-based information system within their studies. The complexity associated with network-based information systems may be seen by considering a study involving the effectiveness of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system on a mid-sized company. A study becomes muddled when it fails to recognize the differences between the myriad of people, procedures, data, software, and hardware involved in the development, implementation, security, use, and support of an ERP system. If a researcher confuses network security with ERP configuration limitations, then two important aspects of the information system are obscured. Networks limit access to network resources so that only authorized users have access to their data. ERP applications allow an organization to restrict access to data to safeguard the data (Colt & Yang, 2004). Both aspects relate to the availability of data, but they come from different parts of the system. The two aspects should not be addressed as if both are attributable to the same source. Misidentifying network-based information system elements reflects negatively upon the legitimacy of an entire study.
Information Systems Research Themes: A Seventeen-year Data-driven Temporal Analysis