Critical Realism as an Underlying Philosophy for IS Research

2005 ◽  
pp. 606-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Classical Realism ◽  
Causal Laws ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Stable Structures ◽  
Formal Constraints

Many recent articles from within the information systems (IS) arena present an old-fashioned view of realism. For example, Iivari, Hirschheim, and Klein (1998) saw classical realism as seeing “data as describing objective facts, information systems as consisting of technological structures (‘hardware’), human beings as subject to causal laws (determinism), and organizations as relatively stable structures” (p. 172). Wilson (1999) saw the realist perspective as relying on “the availability of a set of formal constraints which have the characteristics of abstractness, generality, invariance across contexts.”

Critical Realism as an Underlying Philosophy for IS Research

2011 ◽  
pp. 806-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Is Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Classical Realism ◽  
Causal Laws ◽  
Realist Ontology ◽  
Realist Perspective ◽  
Stable Structures

Many recent articles from within the information systems (IS) arena present an old-fashioned view of realism. For example, Iivari, Hirschheim, and Klein (1998) saw classical realism as seeing “data as describing objective facts, information systems as consisting of technological structures (‘hardware’), human beings as subject to causal laws (determinism), and organizations as relatively stable structures” (p. 172). Wilson (1999) saw the realist perspective as relying on “the availability of a set of formal constraints which have the characteristics of abstractness, generality, invariance across contexts.” Fitzgerald and Howcroft (1998) presented a realist ontology as one of the foundational elements of positivism in discussing the polarity between hard and soft approaches in IS. Realism is placed alongside positivist, objectivist, etic epistemologies and quantitative, confirmatory, deductive, laboratory-focussed and nomothetic methodologies. Such a traditional view of realism is perhaps justified within the IS arena, as it reflects the historical focus of its use, however, there now needs to be a greater recognition of the newer forms of realism—forms of realism that specifically address all of the positivist leanings emphasised by Fitzgerald and Howcroft (1998). A particular example of this newer form of realism is critical realism. This modern realist approach is primarily founded on the writings of the social sciences philosopher Bhaskar (1978, 1979, 1986, 1989, 1991). The usefulness of such an approach has recently been recognized in the IS arena by Dobson (2001) and Mingers (2002).

Critical Realism and IS Research

2012 ◽  
pp. 63-81
Author(s):  
Philip J. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Methodological Development ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
Practical Implications

Critical realism is seeing more application within the Information Systems field, but its application is still limited. Applying critical realism has proven to be difficult, partly because critical realism provides little practical guidance as to methodological development and even less guidance as to the role of technology within its complex arguments. This chapter discusses some of the practical implications consequent from adopting critical realism in terms of philosophy, theory, and methodology.

Using Critical Realism in IS Research

2011 ◽  
pp. 323-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven A. Carlsson
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Direct Contrast ◽  
Structure Dimension

Different strands of postmodern, poststructuralist, postrealist, and nonpositivistic approaches and theories have gained popularity in information systems (IS) research. Since most of these approaches have a flat treatment of the agency/structure dimension, focus almost exclusively on micro phenomena, and reject objectivist elements, it can be argued that they are problematic to use in IS research. An alternative approach and philosophy is critical realism, which suggests, for example, that social reality is not simply composed of agents’ meanings but that there exist structural factors influencing agents’ lived experiences. Critical realism starts from an ontology which identifies structures and mechanisms through which events and discourses are generated as being fundamental to the constitution of our natural and social reality. This is in direct contrast to a constructivist ontology. This chapter presents critical realism and Derek Layder’s critical-realism-based adaptive theory and exemplifies how they can be used in IS research.

Critical Realism in IS Research

2005 ◽  
pp. 611-616
Author(s):  
Sven A. Carlsson
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Is Research

The Information Systems (IS) field is dominated by research approaches and theories based in positivism (Arnott, Pervan, O’Donnell, & Dodson, 2004; Chen & Hirschheim, 2004; Schultze & Leidner, 2003). IS scholars have pointed out weaknesses in these approaches and theories and in response different strands of post-modern theories and constructivism have gained popularity—see Lee, Liebenau, and DeGross, (1997), Trauth (2001), Whitman and Woszczynski (2004), and Michael Myers’ “Qualitative Research in Information Systems” (http://www.qual.auckland.ac.nz). The approaches and theories argued for include interpretivism, ethnography, grounded theory, and theories like Giddens’ (1984) structuration theory and Latour’s (1987) actor-network theory. (For simplicity, we refer to these different approaches and theories as “post-approaches” and “post-theories” when distinction is not required).

The crucial roles of the artificial information systems web in intelligent human organizations

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Liang Thow Yick
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Physical Structure ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Intelligent Structure ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Human Thinking

Human organizations with human beings as interacting agents are complex adaptive systems. Such organizations continuously consume information, make decisions, and evolve with the changing environment. In this respect, all human organizations including businesses must enhance their collective intelligence in order to learn faster and compete more effectively. Thus, adopting an intelligent structure is vital to all businesses as the world moves deeper into the knowledge economy. The paradigmatic shift in thinking, structure, management and operation requires all intelligent human organizations to be designed around intelligence. An intelligent structure encompasses an orgmind, an intangible deep component, as well as a physical component. At the physical structure perspective, being able to identify, design and develop an artificial information systems network that synchronizes well with the orgmind is critical. The connectivity of the organization, and the manner in which it behaves, communicates and collaborates, depend on the effectiveness of its information systems network and its orgmind. The orgmind which is at least the collection of all the interacting human thinking systems must be fully aware of both the internal and external environments. Inevitably, in the new economy, intelligent human organizations must be equipped with a well-integrated intelligent information network which functions similarly to the nervous system in biological beings. This study examines the current status of artificial information systems and their networks in businesses with respect to the above concepts.

scholarly journals The Delphi Method in Information Systems Research (2004-2017)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman Alarabiat ◽  
Isabel Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Delphi Method ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research ◽  
Innovative Techniques ◽  
Delphi Studies ◽  
Procedural Recommendations ◽  
Do So

After almost 30 years of being used in the information system (IS) discipline, only a few studies have focused on how IS scholars apply the method's guidelines to design Delphi studies. Thus, this paper focuses on the use of the Delphi method in IS research. To do so, articles published between 2004 and 2017 in the Senior IS Scholars' collection of journals of the Association of Information Systems (AIS), describing Delphi studies, were analised. Based on analysis of sixteen (16) retrieved IS studies, we concluded that IS researchers have applied the method’s most important phases and the procedural recommendations to promote rigor were considered in the majority of the analised studies. Nonetheless, IS researchers still need to include detailed information about (1) the steps taken to ensure the validity of the achieved results, (2) better describe the process of selecting and recruiting the experts, and (3) experiment with innovative techniques to keep participants involved in the Delphi process.

Social Drivers for ICT Diffusion among Agrarian Business Enterprises in Nigeria

2013 ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Bartholomew Aleke ◽  
Udechukwu Ojiako ◽  
David Wainwright
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Social Network Theory ◽  
Conceptual Basis ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation Theory ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Business Enterprises ◽  
Successful Innovation

In this paper, the authors examine the process of diffusion of innovation ICT within agrarian business enterprises operating in developing countries. There is substantial research in the area of Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DoI) and its application to Information Systems (IS) research within organisations. However, in recognition of the conceptual limitations of DoI, researchers have called for the incorporation of aspects of Social Network Theory (SNT) into DoI frameworks. The findings of this research suggest that an understanding of the conceptual basis of innovation is a major driver of successful innovation adoption.

Information Systems Evaluation

2013 ◽  
pp. 333-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Chen ◽  
Nor Mardziah Osman ◽  
Guo Chao Alex Peng
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
Current System ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Evaluation Methodologies ◽  
Is Implementation ◽  
Is Research ◽  
Is Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Approaches ◽  
Goals And Objectives

Due to the prevalent use of Information Systems (IS) in modern organisations, evaluation research in this field is becoming more and more important. In light of this, a set of rigorous methodologies were developed and used by IS researchers and practitioners to evaluate the increasingly complex IS implementation used. Moreover, different types of IS and different focusing perspectives of the evaluation require the selection and use of different evaluation approaches and methodologies. This chapter aims to identify, explore, investigate, and discuss the various key methodologies that can be used in IS evaluation from different perspectives, namely in nature (e.g. summative vs. formative evaluation) and in strategy (e.g. goal-based, goal-free, and criteria-based evaluation). Six case studies are also presented and discussed in this chapter to illustrate how the different IS evaluation methodologies can be applied in practices. The chapter concludes that evaluation methodologies should be selected depending on the nature of the IS and the specific goals and objectives of the evaluation. Nonetheless, it is also proposed that formative criteria-based evaluation and summative criteria-based evaluation are currently among the more widely used in IS research. The authors suggest that the combined used of one or more of these approaches can be applied at different stages of the IS life cycle in order to generate more rigorous and reliable evaluation outcomes. Moreover, results and outcomes of IS evaluation research will not just be useful in practically guiding actions to improve the current system, but can also be used to generate new knowledge and theory to be adopted by future IS research.

The SoSM Revisited-A Critical Realist Perspective

2011 ◽  
pp. 122-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Critical Systems ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Defining System ◽  
Emancipatory Practice ◽  
Framework System ◽  
Realist Perspective

The chapter revisits the System of System Methodologies (SoSM) and suggests that use of the SoSM as a framework for defining methodological assumptions is difficult when the concerned methodologies have significantly different meanings for one axis of the framework—“system” complexity. It is suggested that the purpose of the underlying system can provide a more appropriate frame for defining system approaches—such purpose being defined as interaction or transformation (Mathiassen & Nielsen, 2000). The chapter also uses aspects of critical realism to provide insights into the SoSM and the critical theory underpinning the framework. The SoSM helped to highlight the neglect of coercive situations and ultimately helped prompt the development of critical systems theory which is focused on three basic commitments, critical awareness, methodological pluralism, and emancipation. Maru and Woodford (2001) recently argue that the focus on emancipation has been relegated due to a concentration on pluralism. This chapter suggests that this is a logical outcome of the epistemological focus of the underlying critical theory of Habermas. The Habermas focus on the epistemological or knowledge-based aspects of the development process must necessarily relegate the importance of ontological matters such as the conditions necessary for emancipatory practice. This chapter proposes that the philosophy of critical realism has insights to offer through its highlighting of the ontological issues in more detail and in arguing for a recognition of the deep structures and mechanisms involved in social situations.

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