[AISWorld] A small revolution in the IS field

[Nik R Hassan]

*A small revolution in the IS field*

As we approach the end of yet another year in the history of the IS field,
I'd like to say how glad I was to have attended ICIS this year. It may just
be me, but I think I just witnessed a small revolution taking place (at
least in North America) in the field. I heard IS scholars making
unconventional remarks I have not heard before. I enclose some quotes, and
what went through my mind in parenthesis [I am just reporting - please
don't shoot the messenger :-) ].

[Varun*] "We can do very good research, but that doesn't mean we are
producing good knowledge … can we create 'better' knowledge?… exciting,
innovative and addressing important questions of our time"

(wha… [my jaw dropping] did Varun just say what I thought he said?? He's
admitting we're not producing good knowledge?)

[Varun] "are we scripting the way we do research....requiring us to select
a theory and apply it to our phenomena, create a mid-level model and then
refine it ... add mediators and moderators to it … Does this script work
for good knowledge?"

(Wow … I kinda think everyone knew that was the game, the standard
publishing script, and I was taught exactly that in school, but to hear a
scholar say it in public and analyze it … cool!)

[Bernard**] "I've been looking back at all the work that I've done… I don't
think I've done enough ... We really should be doing research to resolve
significant global problems...

(if Bernard feels he hasn't contributed much, how much have the rest of us
done?)

[Bernard] ... at NUS, we've put together an inter-disciplinary team and
received a big grant using social media to reduce pests ... and increase
food production ... Let's not be too fixated about whether MISQ or ISR
would publish such research ... let's target our work at Nature or Science
.... to earn the respect of others outside our community

(that's easy for him to say, he's already published tons in MISQ and ISR.
But isn't there something wrong with the picture? Isn't research that's
frequently published in the top journals of the field that's supposed to
make their way to journals like Science and Nature? What does that say
about our "normal" research?)

[Manju**]  "After we have had the satisfaction of publishing in MISQ or
ISR, and at least after making tenure and Full, it is time to start
thinking about researching big ideas that make a difference "

(Publishing 2-3 papers in MISQ and ISR, and getting full professor is going
to take at least 10-20 years out of the most productive years of anyone's
life, if they're fortunate enough to get there. Shouldn't those most
productive years already be spent in researching big ideas? Shouldn't big
ideas be some part of getting a full professorship in IS?)

[Steven Alter in a follow up email]
Our ICIS panel "DSR … remind me again about whether it is a new research
paradigm or a rationale of last resort …" chaired by Allen Lee, with Steven
Alter, Helmut Krcmar, and Mike Chiasson … remarks similar to Varun … that
DSR is increasingly governed by a script that makes papers easier to review
but … becoming an obstacle to genuine innovation … script encourages DSR
researchers to do design-related work in a way in which few if any
designers actually design things in the real world, which is especially
unfortunate for a type of research that is called design SCIENCE research."

All of these remarks are making me rethink about the notion of "value" in
our work (not to be confused with "usefulness" or "utility"). It's close to
"relevance" but since relevance has so much baggage attached to it, perhaps
we should be taking a closer look at what valuable research really means.

What kind of IS research is valuable anyway?


Nik Rushdi Hassan
Univ of Minnesota Duluth
Chair SIG Philosophy

*Varun Grover and Kalle Lyytinen presented at the SIG Philosophy Workshop
at ICIS on "IS Theory-State of the Art" - available soon on the SIG
Philosophy homepage

**Bernard Tan and Manju Ahuja presented at the Senior Scholars Panel at
ICIS 2012 chaired by Fred Niederman


-- 
Nik R. Hassan, PhD
Assoc. Professor, Finance & MIS Dept.
Labovitz School of Business and Economics
University of Minnesota Duluth
1318 Kirby Drive, LSBE 335Q
Duluth MN 55812
Office Phone: (218) 726-7453
Fax: (218) 726-7516
Home Page: www.d.umn.edu/~nhassan
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/pub/nik-rushdi-hassan/33/591/a9b
Email: nhassan at d.umn.edu
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