Studying Virtual Work in Teams, Organizations and Communities

This chapter addresses empirical methods for obtaining data on virtual teams, organizations and professional communities. We begin by reviewing different ways of defining virtual work. We then examine two epistemological paradoxes involved in empirical research on virtual work: (1) virtual work is simultaneously mobile and motionless, and (2) virtual work is simultaneously distributed and situated. We address these paradoxes by identifying four data generation approaches that can be used separately or in combination: participant observation, computer logs, interview, and questionnaire. The chapter describes each of these methods and illustrates each with one or more exemplary studies. By studying virtual teams, organizations, and communities from various angles with different types of data, researchers can better inform the process of theorizing.

Rigor, Relevance and Research Paradigms

A practitioner leaves behind the world of failed multimillion-dollar information systems projects to seek solutions in academe. In making the transition from IS practitioner to IS researcher, the author encounters two fundamental tensions regarding the conduct of social science. The first tension concerns the challenge of conducting research meeting the criteria of scientific rigor while addressing issues relevant to practitioners. The second tension centers on the debate concerning the suitability of positivist and non-positivist approaches to research in the social sciences. A review of the literature discussing these tensions led the author to the observation that the two tensions appear to be related. This insight led to the investigation of multi-paradigmatic research frameworks as a means of reconciling these related tensions. The essay provides a personalized account regarding the author’s motivation for conducting practitioner-oriented research, the intellectual journey made through the literature to acquire tools of the social science field, and his observations concerning the advantages of multi-paradigmatic research in the IS field.

Cognitive Research in Information Systems Using the Repertory Grid Technique

This chapter discusses the design and application of a cognitive mapping methodology known as the repertory grid. Grounded in personal construct theory (Kelly, 1955), the repertory grid is an extremely flexible technique to conduct both qualitative and/or quantitative research and, in organizational research, is the preferred methodology for mapping the content and structure of cognition. The aim of this chapter is to expound upon the potential of this technique to information systems researchers by considering the variety of ways the repertory grid may be employed. This application is illustrated by examining published studies in both the information systems and the broader management fields.

Methodological Issues in MIS Cross-Cultural Research

This chapter presents a discussion of methodological issues that are relevant and idiosyncratic to cross-cultural research. One characteristic that typifies cross-cultural studies is their comparative nature, i.e., they involve a comparison across two separate cultures on a focal phenomenon. When differences across cultures are observed, the question arises as to whether the results are true cultural differences or merely measurement artifacts. Methodological considerations in cross-cultural research focus on ruling out alternative explanations for these differences and thus enhancing the interpretability of the results. The chapter presents an overview of key methodological issues in cross-cultural research and reviews methods of preventing or detecting methodological problems.

Updating Ethnography to Investigate Contemporary Organizational Forms

The emergence of innovative organizational configurations enabled by recent advances in information and communication technology represent new and expanding venues for information systems research. At the same time, the distributed, dynamic nature of these new work forms challenge the premises and practices of traditional information systems research approaches. In this chapter, I advocate ethnography as a somewhat counterintuitive but valuable approach to the study of virtual work groups or, more specifically, virtual project teams. While the speed, fluidity, and physical distribution of virtual project teams pose unique challenges to ethnographic inquiry, it is these very characteristics that beg for the in situ scrutiny that only ethnography can provide. The mission of this chapter is three-fold: I intend to contribute to prior efforts to demystify ethnographic research generally, to illustrate its applicability to emerging venues of IS research, and to advocate for more ethnographic studies of virtual project teams as an essential step in understanding the socio-technical infrastructure needed to support them. Topics covered include the rationale for adopting an ethnographic approach to the study of virtual project groups, modifications to traditional practice, and the challenges, risks, and benefits one can expect to meet along the way. In addition, the chapter discusses different models for conducting multi-site studies and their advantages and limitations with respect to studying virtual project teams.

A Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis of the End User Computing Satisfaction and Computer Self-Efficacy Instruments

Researchers are employing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) matrices to estimate parameters representing trait, method, and error variance, as well as parameters representing the correlations among traits (or factors). This study utilizes CFA with MTMM matrices to assess the convergent validity, discriminant validity, and the presence and effects of method variance in the end-user computing satisfaction instrument (EUCSI) and the computer self-efficacy instrument (CSE). The results of the study indicate that, in these samples, the two instruments demonstrate adequate convergent and discriminant validity, but that method variance is present and accounts for a large proportion of the variance in both models. Further, the proposed factor structure of the EUCSI appears to be unstable as a result of the effects of multiple methods, while the proposed factor structure of the CSE remains stable in the presence of the methods.

Simulation in IS Research

Simulation has been a fundamental research approach in the social and physical sciences. Through the modeling, experimentation, and analysis processes of simulation, the functional dependencies in systems can be probed statistically. The approach has enabled social and physical science researchers to examine dynamically complex systems. Even though information systems (IS) can fall into both of categories of social or physical systems—depending upon the aspect of the system being analyzed – IS researchers have not embraced the paradigm. The reasons for simulation not being more common in IS research can be attributed to four points: the structure of IS curriculums, the level of modeling sophistication driving the research, the separation of the field’s IS developments from the physical reality of the usage of the systems, and the level of maturity with the field. The chapter presents the basic concepts for the construction and use of simulation, the need and potential for simulation in IS research, the reasons why IS research has not utilized simulation, and the way IS research can embrace simulation in the future.

The Problem of Common Method Variance in IS Research

Many IS researchers obtain data through the use of self-reports. However, self-reports have inherent problems and limitations, most notably the problem of common method variance. Common method variance can cause researchers to find a significant effect, when in fact, the true effect is due to the method employed. In this chapter, we examined published research in leading information systems (IS) journals to determine if common method variance is a potential problem in IS research and how IS researchers have attempted to overcome problems with method bias. We analyzed 116 research articles that used a survey approach as the predominant method in MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Journal of Management Information Systems. The results indicate that only a minority of IS researchers have reported on common method variance. We recommend that IS researchers undertake techniques to minimize the effects of common method variance, including using multiple types of respondents, longitudinal designs, and confirmatory factor analysis that explicitly models method effects.

Exemplary Works on Information Systems Research

With the quantity and quality of available works in information systems (IS) research, it would seem advantageous to possess a concise list of exemplary works on IS research in order to enable instructors of IS research courses to better prepare students to publish in IS venues. To that end, this study seeks to identify and rank a collection of works that is widely viewed as among the best in the field on the subject of research in IS. The study examined more than 460 such candidate works and was subsequently refined to a list of 58 exemplary studies. This list was formatted into an online survey and administered to the IS academic community. The resulting list of ranked articles provides an excellent supplement to a course on IS research, providing examples of quality in research methodology.

Structuration Theory in Information Systems Research

Numerous scholars in the information systems field have formulated variants of structuration theory in order to extend some of its basic constructs to information-technology-related phenomena and contexts. Along with this theoretical formulation has grown an extensive empirical literature. Here we take stock of the empirical research on structuration in IS to consider the requirements and options inherent to rigorous IS research that employs a structuration lens. The conceptual relationships presented in structuration theories of IS imply a set of seven requirements for a full-blown program of empirical study; we outline these requirements. We identify five sets of choices that researchers have as they design specific studies and the options available within these choice sets. We then summarize the empirical work in IS to date in terms of major methods that have been applied—case studies, direct observation, experiments, and surveys. We evaluate the relative strength of these methods in light of the requirements and options outlined earlier. We discuss important methodological controversies and directions and emphasize the potential power of adopting an interlocking, comprehensive set of research approaches when studying structuration in IS.