Report R4.10 Research Topics and Research Designs in Information Systems Seminar Leader: Radhika Santhanam, School of Management, University of Kentucky, USA santhan[at]email.uky.edu The study of information systems (IS) leads to research topics at many levels. At a macro-level, information systems can be studied from an organisational perspective. The role of information systems in the overall performance of an organisation is often studied at this level. At the micro-level, managerial decision making, managerial learning, and human-computer interaction are some of the contexts for information systems research. Speed and accuracy of decision making and differences in user-satisfaction are some of the factors that are discussed at this level. Some of the research themes in IS relate to IS strategy, IS management, IS technologies, and human-computer interaction. Research in IS strategy focuses on the contribution of information systems towards the achievement of organisational goals. In this research area, information systems are often considered as investments. Ideas from economic theories can be linked to yield theoretical frameworks for this kind of research. Researchers in this area often opt for research methods such as survey method, case method, and archival data method. Research in IS management focuses more on the implementation of information systems in organisations. From the perspective of IS management, information systems are considered as one of the business functions. Organisational theories, social-network theories, and management theories can be adapted as theoretical frameworks for such research. Research methods often used in this kind of research are survey method and case method. Research in IS technologies deals with the technological component of information systems, such as data mining, data privacy, and knowledge-management systems designing. Operations research models such as queuing models, network-flow programming models, and Markov chain can be used as theoretical frameworks for such research. Researchers in this area often use methods such as surveys, case studies, mathematical modelling, simulation, and laboratory experiments. Research in human-computer interaction focuses on the psychological characteristics of the users of information systems. Some of the current areas of inquiry employing this perspective are Web personalisation, e-learning, and e-retail. Theories such as the theory of cognitive fit, flow theory, and theories of perception can provide the conceptual basis for research on human-computer interaction. Methods often employed in this research area are case method and laboratory experiment method, of which the latter seems to be more common. Experiments generally involve a control group and one or more treatment groups. The treatment group is given some "treatment" by the researcher and the control group is not given that treatment. In case of human-computer interactions, the treatments often used are Web content, user interfaces of computer applications, and user environments. Both the groups are observed for any variations in the relevant attributes being studied. Controlling the external factors that may affect the research outcomes is one of the challenges of an experimental design. In experimental research, there might be a bias in the research outcomes when the participants are aware of the details of the experiment. Another important area of concern for a researcher doing experimental research is the uniformity of the participant groups. Uniform experimental groups can be achieved by using randomised experimental designs, namely, completely randomised design and randomised block design. In a completely randomized experiment the objects or the individuals are assigned to a group completely randomly. In a block design experiment, the objects or individuals are first divided into homogenous groups and then randomly assigned to the experiment groups. Potential sources for ideas in information systems research were discussed. In practice, ideas can be generated from real business problems, new technologies, and hypothetical business cases. Previous research in the domain can also spawn new ideas. Human behaviour is another potential source of ideas for doing research in information systems. Some of the human-behavioural attributes that can be studied are attention, problem-solving, information processing, and decision making. References Kerlinger, F., & Lee, H. (1999). Foundations of behavioral research (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Lee, Y., Lee, Z., & Gosain, S. (2004). The evolving intellectual diversity of IS discipline: Evidence from referent theoretical frameworks. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 13, Article 33, 546-579.
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