A Set of Principles for Conducting
and Evaluating Interpretive Field
Studies in Information Systems
Heinz K. Klein
Michael D. Myers
Standards, not rules
• For interpretive(and hermeneutic) field studies
• Principles are not a pre-defined set of criteria
• Improvement over status quo
• Hope to ignite some debate
• Bring on the principles!
The seven principles 1/3
• The Fundamental Principle of the
Hermeneutic Circle
– Iterating between fragments and the whole
– Meaning must be found within context
• The Principle of Contextualization
– Reflect on social and historical background of the
resreach setting
The seven principles 2/3
• The Principle of Interaction Between the
Research and the Subjects
– How the researcher impacts the data
• The Principle of Abstraction and Generalization
– Relate principles #1 and #2 to general concepts
• The Principle of Dialogical Reasoning
– Contratictions between theory and data
The seven principles 3/3
• The Principle of Multiple Interpretations
– One incident, 100 different stories
• The Principle of Suspicion
– There may be biases and distortion
Conclusion
• No longer a need to justify by (inaproperiate)
positivist criteria
• Raise the standard
– Considering applying these principles to your
research
• The principles are a visible target
– Bring on the debate