Educing Theory from Practice

Action research is an empirical research method with two purposes: (1) to solve an immediate practical problem, and (2) to develop new scientific knowledge. Action research projects sometimes succeed at the first, but fail at the second. The highly practical nature of action research sometimes leads to results that have little to contribute in terms of new scholarly knowledge. Although a difficult practical problem may have been resolved, academic publications will often reject reports of the results because the theoretical value is trivial. Action research that encounters difficulties in the attempts to employ existing theory in resolving an immediate practical problem is a more promising venue for developing new or enhanced theory. The most valuable venues for action research lie in the intractable problems of practice, problems that existing knowledge cannot seem to fix. Such intractable problems provide an ideal context for the discovery of new or enhanced theory within the action research process.

A qualitative research project: looking from the inside out

Too often research involving a hospital system or the implementation of ICT in a health care setting has looked at the technology from the perspective of the technologists themselves or doctors. Much of the research has been quantitative in design for example building and testing software, installing and testing hardware, conducting surveys of usage. This presentation will focus on a two-year multidisciplinary research project which involved the implementation of a number of mobile wireless devices in a hospital ward setting. An interpretive approach involving a variety of methods, ethnographic, action research, and even in part what could be loosely described as hermeneutic, were used. As a result we were able to identify which devices were appropriate to the needs of the nursing staff and the implications of PDA use in a hospital ward. I will describe the project, how we applied the various research approaches and argue why a qualitative approach was so important in the context of this project.

Assoc. Prof. Julie Fisher has taught and researched in the information systems field for the last 16 years. Julie has built a strong reputation in the area of usability, technology and health, particularly in relation to systems development. Qualitative research has been the predominant research approach she has used. Julie has published in leading journals such as IEEE Transactions, European Journal of Information Systems and most recently Journal of Electronic Markets.

One of her current projects involves the implementation and use of mobile devices in a hospital. This project has been running for nearly two years. Another major project Julie was involved in and has recently completed involved the development of a personalised portal for women with breast cancer.

Title: Theory and thick descriptions: personal reflections

There has been a steady growth of interest in qualitative research in the Information Systems (IS) field over the past decade. Qualitative IS research has been a tremendous success in generating a better understanding of the development and use of IS and consequent changes in work practices and interactions. For many qualitative IS researchers social theories have become the "crafting tools" providing "lenses" to interpret their research findings. While social theories are useful in sensitizing research to social issues, "thick" descriptive data is crucial for generating empirically well-grounded understanding of IS phenomena. Developing "thick descriptions" of the research context through genuine field experience and capturing its distinctive complexity is essential for qualitative IS researchers. There are however many issues such as entry barriers, convenience and degree of engagement of researchers with the subjects, that weaken the rigor in the qualitative fieldwork research designs, which lead to severe limitations in the collection of the sort of thick description necesary for theory building.

Dr Nandhakumar's keynote address will reflect on his experience of conducting ethnographic research of IS phenomena in different contexts ranging from large multinational organizations to computer game studios and software companies, and suggests how qualitative IS researchers can, and should, achieve the right balance between theory and thick descriptive data in their research.

Joe Nandhakumar is a Reader/ Associate Professor and the Director of the Centre for Information Management in the School of Management at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. He gained his PhD from the Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK. He has previously held visiting research positions at the University of California Irvine and Georgia State University, USA. Dr Nandhakumar’s research interests focus on the dynamic relationships between people in organizations and information technology, and consequent changes in work practices and interactions. His research projects employ qualitative methods, such as participant observation and in-depth interviewing, to investigate how specific organizations develop and use information systems, and how that development and use shape their work practices. The results of these studies have been published in refereed journals and refereed international conference proceedings. His work has received research awards such as the best research paper award at the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 1997), and the European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2002).