MIS 650
Writing Research Papers I:
Theory
(Getting an Idea)
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Why Write a Research
Paper
 To TEACH what is known
 To HIGHLIGHT the need to know more
 To GENERATE new thought
 To INTEGRATE your thought into existing
thought
 To DEMONSTRATE the truth of your
thinking
To INSTIGATE new inquiry
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Forms of Research
Paper
 Formal published article in scholarly or
professional journal
 Paper delivered at scholarly or professional
conference
 Technical report to working group (business
or professional)
 Journalistic article for (general) public
 Dissertation/Thesis/Research Report/
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Technical Report
Types of Research
Paper




Critical Review of Thought
Expose of Bad Practice
(Re) Analysis of the Situation
Research Report, pointing out new facts,
seeking opportunities
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Pragmatics of IS
Research
•
•
•
•
Consult Strategic Plan (Strategy, Planning)
Generate the Question (Marketing)
Find a Sponsor (Marketing, Finance)
Settle Ethical Questions, Obtain Approval
(Policy)
• Write one or more Proposals (Comm’n)
• Research the Literature (Operations)
• Refine the Question (Marketing, Policy)
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Pragmatics of IS Research
(cont’d.)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Research the Real World (Operations)
Analyse the Results (Operations)
Document the Results (Communication)
Draw Conclusions (Operations)
Submit for Publication (Sales)
Account for Resource use (Accounting)
Celebrate or cringe (PR)
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Generating a Topic
 Unsystematically
 Systematically
For a Funder/Audience
To Complete/Round out a Resume
What Will Sell
 Current Hot Topics
 The Need for a Stable Phenomenon
 The Need to Hold
Your
Interest
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CURRENT HOT TOPICS
TECHNOLOGY
IT
MANAGEMENT
COMMERCE
Methods
IT Staff Retention
BPR & friends
Internet, Web
CIO, IT Governance
Electronic Commerce
Client-Server
IT Practices, Success
“Alignment”
GroupWare
Project Management
Technology Adoption
Outsourcing
Global IS
Methodological Issues:
Interpretivistism,
Qualitative Methods,
Ethics
Network Paradigms
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Users of the Research
Paper
Other
Other
Researchers
IS
Students
IS
IS
Practitioners
Practitioners
Research
General
Public
Paper
IS
Instructors
External
Reader
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IS
Prof
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Uses of the Research
Paper







Extend the “frontiers” of knowledge
Point out commercial opportunities
Meet the needs of academic task, goal
Foment revolution, change
Market ideas to a limited group
Sound the alarm, call to action
“Hidden Agendas” (career, politics, etc.)
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How Your Paper
Will Be Judged
 Innovativeness, contribution to theory
 Completeness of background research
 Relevance to perceived current challenges
 Clarity, succinctness, appeal, structure
 Mechanical production or delivery
 Persuasiveness, face validity
 Applicability of results
 Political correctness,
unfortunately
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Structure of the
Research Paper
 Chapter 1: Theory
 Chapter 2: Literature Review
 Chapter 3: Methodology
 Chapter 4: Data Collection
 Chapter 5: Analysis and Results
 Chapter 6: Conclusions
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Chapter 1: Theory
Chapter Outline
 1.1 Context, History
 1.2 Your Research TOPIC
 1.3 Contending Theories (if any)
 1.4 Necessity for Research
 1.5 Value of Research
 1.6 The Research Hypotheses
 1.7 Overview of Rest
of Paper
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1.1 Context/History
WHEN: The history of the research area:
 What has happened in the real world?
 What has happened in the world of ideas?
WHERE: Context
 WHO is interested?  WHY?
 WHAT are the stakes and stakeholders 
 HOW: Method
 Why is this new approach called for?
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1.2 Your Research Topic
State your research topic as succinctly but as
vividly as possible:
“The role that culture plays in the
perceptions of participants in electronic,
computer-supported meetings (EMS)”
Note action-oriented kernal: “…plays…”
Note focus/locus “culture”, “EMS”
In IS, there must be a technology locus
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1.3 Contending Theories
Existing Theory
Contending Theory
Possibly yours!
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Example: Deindividuation
 Current theory says creativity in meetings
due to “deindividuation”, participant losing
inhibitions by being “immersed in group”
 Deindividuation can explain both good
and bad behaviour, but little bad happens,
and cannot explain free riding
 New theory (“orienting”) shows how
people are creative while probing constraint
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Example: IT and
Knowledge Creation
 KC requires certain enabling conditions
Variety, Autonomy,
 IT can affect KC in three ways:
Creative Chaos, etc.
Enabl’g
Cond’ns
1a
Info
Tech’y
1b
Knowl.
Creation
2
3
 IT can (1) create enabling conditions, (2)
affect how E.C.s facilitate K.C. and (3)
directly generate knowledge.
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1.4 Necessity for Research:
Possible reasons
• Situation is instance of more general
phenomenon regarding technology
• Commercial interest
• Potential for wasting lots of business
resources
• People need help with technology
• Technology is going the wrong direction
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1.5 Value of Research:
Possible Criteria
 Refers to previous sections on WHAT,
WHO, WHY, and HOW
 Demonstrates that research is worth doing
 Convinces that paper is worth reading
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Example: GSS and Culture
Because existing theories don’t explain anomalous
(unexpected and inconsistent) results very well,
these theories need improvement. Also, such
systems are now more widely marketed to nonAmerican groups. In addition, there have been
many examples of partial implementation and
huge expense. We suspect that corporate or
national culture is a strong influence on the
value of GSS. The new theory shows how culture
influences users’ perceptions and evaluations.
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1.6 The Research
Hypotheses
 Are predictions from theory that can be
tested. THEY MUST BE TESTABLE
 Generally are phrased in “abstract” terms
but can be related to real-world phenomena
 If hypotheses are shown to be false, then
the underlying theory must have something
false in it
Often stated in the “null” or negative way
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Two Research Approaches:
Positivism
Phenomenology
• Seeks prediction and
control
• Reduces world to
atoms
• Stresses observation
• Concerned with
objectivity
• “Scientific”
• Seeks understanding
and debate
• Treats world as a
whole within context
• Stresses experience
• Concerned with
subjectivity
• “Experiential”
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A Brief Journey to
Positivismland
 Independence of Observer
 Free of values; objectivity is goal
 Seeks to explain causes
 Hypothetico-Deductive (theory tested by
observation)
 Operationalisation is key
 Reductionist
 Seeks Generalisations
 Cross-sectional
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Hypothetico-Deductive
Theory
Method
makes
Theory comes
from researcher’s
imagination
Working /
predictions
that are
implications
Theory Describing
the Real World
Theory is revised
after results of
testing. If theory is
supported, it need
not be revised,
Real-World
however.
Observations
Research
Testable
Hypotheses
Hypotheses are
operationalised
into real-world
test of predictions
Real-World Test
Real-world
test of
predictions is
carried out
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Example: GSS and Culture
Working Hypotheses
• W1: “Orienting decreases with time”
• W2: “New cultural situations heighten need
to orient”
• W3: “New situations heighten sense of selfawareness and thus reduce perceived sense
of anonymity”
Note abstract
Terminology
Note Generality
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Example: GSS and Culture
Research Hypotheses
• H1: Participants (Ps) generate more
orienting-type comments in early stages of
meeting than later stages
• H2: Ps generate more orienting-type
comments in a transcultural setting than in a
unicultural setting
• H3: Ps have a higher sense of selfawareness in transcultural settings than...
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1.7 Overview of Rest
of the Research Paper
 Mention each chapter
 Highlight main point of each chapter
 If not as expected (I.e., this outline), explain
why you must deviate from expected
 Point out any unusual things the reader must
watch out for
 Acknowledgements can be put here or in
separate section at front of paper
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Theory Development
Worksheet
Complete the attached
worksheet
Develop a formalised set
of theoretical ideas
Write a short article on the
ideas
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Page 3
Page 2
Page 1
Describe a phenomenon that is of interest to you
Why is this interesting?
What else would you like to know about this phenomenon?
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Page 1
Page 3
Page 2
What are the important concepts to this
phenomenon?
How do you think they are related?
What about them causes this relationship?
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Page 2
Page 1
Page 3
What other reasons could there be for this
phenomenon to occur the way it does?
How would you say these reasons differ from one another?
How would you go about demonstrating which reason
is the best one?
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