Orlikowski

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Orlikowski BaroudiniStudying Information
Technology in Orgaizations Research Approaches
and Assumptions

• Presentation for INF9200 by
• Lasse Berntzen

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• What research philosophies are used within IS
  research?
• Methodology Examined 155 research papers from IS
  journals from 1983 to 1988
• Looked for dominant perspective
• Used three of Culnans five topic oriented
  research categories (not foundation and
  curriculum)

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• Culnans five topic-oriented research categories
• Organizational approaches
• Individual approaches
• IS management

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• Research design
• Time frame of study
• Epistemology

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Articles classified by category
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Research design
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Epistemology

• Epistemology How knowledge is created
• Chuas (1986) classification of research
  epistemologies
• Postivist studies (96,8)
• Interpretitive studies (3,2)
• Critical studies (0)

Research method is independent of underlying
epistemology. E.g. case studies may be performed
from a positivist, interpretive or critical
approach
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Dominance?

• Positivist approach is clearly dominant
• No topic area or theory dominates IS research
• Assumptions about acceptable IS research
• Survey or laboratory oriented
• Investigates phenomena with a single
  cross-section or a slice of time

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Categorization

• Goal To increase awareness of different research
  philosophies.
• What every IS researcher should know.
• Be aware I have read the article several times,
  but I still feel like a novice

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Different research philosophies
Criticism Compromised ideals, not always usable
for social research
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Interpretative Research PhilosophyEmpirical
Example

• Large consulting firm, CASE-tools
• Study of teams
• Ethnographic techniques
• Theoretical framework
• No structured instrumentation, no statistical
  inference testing to analyze data
• Is understanding correct (humans can be
  misleading)
• Remember to tell my own experiences

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Critical Research PhilosphyEmipirical Example

• Smith (1988)
• Impact of EPOS on retail workers
• Labor process
• Relationship between labor and management
• Eight eight retail firms
• No formal hypothesis, no structured instruments,
  nostatistical inference testing
• Field notes of observations, interviews etc.
• Conclusion Enhances the existing culture of the
  firm.

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Conclusions (of the authors)

• All three research philosophies offer an
  insightful perspective of interest in IS research
• Goal Show possibilities, but not to replace
  positivist perspective with interpretive or
  critical ones
• Points out that researchers is often trained in
  one specific school, and therefore uses one
  specific approach