Historical Development of Research Methods in the Information Systems Discipline
Sprache des Vortragstitels:
Englisch
Original Tagungtitel:
AMCIS 2011
Sprache des Tagungstitel:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
In this article, we report on an investigation that integrated the results from twenty meta-studies on research methods as
identified by a thorough literature review. By conducting this investigation, we seek to reconstruct the historical development
of research methods in the Information Systems (IS) discipline. Major results of the investigation are: Only the classical
empirical methods (survey, case study, laboratory experiment, and field experiment) have been the subject of intensive
discussion. Survey, case study, and laboratory experiment demonstrate an upward tendency in their historical development
during the past forty years (1968-2006), whereas the field experiment does not. The investigation reveals an average adoption
rate of 24 percent for the survey, 13 percent for the case study, 10 percent for the laboratory experiment, and 3 percent for the
field experiment. Finally, we have not observed radical methodological changes in the IS discipline. Key findings and their
implications for the future development of the IS discipline are discussed.