This paper reviews the origins, techniques and roles associated with action research into information systems (IS). Many consider the approach to be the paragon of post-positivist research methods, yet it has a cloudy history among the social sciences. The paper summarizes the rigorous approach to action research and suggests certain domains of ideal use (such as systems development methodology). For those faced with conducting, reviewing or examining action research, the paper discusses various problems, opportunities and strategies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlaviM., CarlsonP., and BrookG. (1989). The ecology of MIS research: a twenty-year status review, in Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Information Systems, Boston, 4–6 December Baltimore: ACM Press, pp. 363–71.
2.
ArgyrisC., and SchönD. (1978). Organizational Learning: A Theory of Action Perspective (Addison-Wesley, Reading).
3.
ArgyrisC., PutnamR., and SmithD. (1985). Action Science (Jossey-Bass, San Fransisco, CA).
4.
BanvilleC., and LandryM. (1989). Can the field of MIS be disciplined?Communications of the ACM, 32, 48–61.
5.
BaroudiJ., and OrlikowskiW. (1989). The problem of statistical power in MIS research, MIS Quarterly, 13, 87–106.
6.
BaskervilleR. (1991). Philosophical bias of methods and tools, Information Systems Research Arena of the 90s, NissenH.E., KleinH., and HirschheimR. (eds).
7.
BenbasatI., GoldsteinD., and MeadM. (1987). The case research strategy in studies of information systems, MIS Quarterly11(3) 368–86.
8.
BlacklerF. (1988). Information technologies and organizations: lessons from the 1980s and issues for the 1990s, Journal of Occupational Psychology, 61, 113–27.
9.
BlumF. (1955). Action research – a scientific approach?Philosophy of Science, 22, 1–7.
10.
ChecklandP. (1981). Systems Thinking, Systems Practice (J. Wiley, Chichester).
11.
ChecklandP. (1985). From optimizing to learning: a development of systems thinking for the 1990s, Journal of the Operational Research Society, 36(9), 757–67.
12.
ChecklandP. (1991). From framework through experience to learning: the essential nature of action research, in Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions (NissenH.E., KleinH.K., and HirschheimR. (eds) North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 397–403.
13.
ChecklandP., and ScholesJ. (1990). Soft Systems Methodology in Practice, (J. Wiley, Chichester).
14.
ClarkA. (1972). Action Research and Organizational Change (Harper and Row, London).
15.
CooperR. (1988). Review of management information systems research: a management support emphasis, Information Processing and Management, 24(1), 73–102.
16.
GalliersR, and LandF. (1987). Choosing appropriate information systems research methodologies, Communications of the ACM, 30900–2.
17.
GlaserB.G., and StrausA.L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory, Strategies for Qualitative Research (Aldine, Chicago).
18.
GummessonE. (1988). Qualitative Methods in Management Research (Chartwell-Bratt, Bickley, Bromley).
19.
HirschheimR. (1985). Information systems epistemology: an historical perspective, in Research Methods In Information Systems, (MumfordE., HurshheimR, FitzgeraldG., and Wood HarperT. (eds) North-Holland, Amsterdam).
20.
HultM., and LennungS.-Å. (1980). Towards a definition of action research: a note and bibliography, Journal of Management Studies17, 241–50.
21.
IsraelB., SchurmanS., and HouseJ. (1989). Action research on occupational stress: involving workers as researchers, International Journal of Health Services, 19(1), 135–55.
22.
IvesB., and OlsonM. (1984). User involvement and MIS success: a review of research, Management Science, 30(5), 586–603.
23.
JarvenpaaS., DicksonG., and DeSanctisG. (1985). Methodological issues in experimental IS research: experiences and recommendations, MIS Quarterly, 141–56.
24.
JenkinsM. (1985). Research methodologies and MIS research, in Research Methods in Information Systems, MumfordE., HirschheimR, FitzgeraldG., and Wood-HarperT. (eds) (North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 103–17.
25.
JepsenL., MathiassenL., and NielsenP. (1989). Back to the thinking mode: diaries for the management of information systems development projects, Behaviour and Information Technology8(3), 207–17.
26.
JönssonS. (1991). Action research, in Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions, NissenH.-E., KleinH.K., and HirschheimR. (eds) (North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 371–96.
27.
JowettS. (1988). Hospital and community liaison links in nursing: the role of the liaison nurse, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 13, 579–87.
28.
KeenP. (1991). Relevance and rigour in information systems research, in Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent TraditionsNissenL. H.-E., KleinH.K., and HirschheimR. (eds) (North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 27–50.
29.
KirkJ., and MillerM. (1986). Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research (Sage, Newbury Park).
30.
KleinH., HirschheimR., and NissenH.-E. (1991). A pluralist perspective of the information systems research arena, in Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions, NissenH.-E., KleinH.K., and HirschheimR. (eds) (North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 1–20.
31.
LewinK. (1951). Field Theory in Social Science (Harper & Bros, New York).
32.
LippitG., and LippitR. (1978). The Consulting Process in Action (University Associates, San Diego, CA).
33.
LukkaK. (1987). Budgetary biasing in organizations: theoretical framework and empirical evidence, Accounting Organizations and Society, 13(3), 281–301.
34.
NaurP. (1983). Program development studies based on diaries, in Psychology of Computer Use, GreenT., PayneS., and Van der VeerG. (eds) (Academic Press, London) pp. 159–70.
35.
OrlikowskiW., and BaroudiJ. (1991). Studying information technology in organizations: research approaches and assumptions, Information Systems Research, 2(1), 1–28.
36.
RapoportR. (1970). Three dilemmas of action research, Human Relations23, 499–513.
37.
RosenauP. (1992). Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads, and Intrusions (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).
38.
SanfordN. (1976). Whatever happened to action research? in Experimenting with Organizational Life: The Action Research Approach, ClarkA. (Compiler) (Plenum, New York).
39.
ScheinE. (1969). Process Consultation: Its Role in Organizational Development (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).
40.
ScheinE. (1987). The Clinical Perspective in Fieldwork (Sage, Newbury Park, CA).
41.
SeashoreS. (1976). The design of action research, in Experimenting with Organizational Life: The Action Research Approach, (Clarke, A. (Comp.) (Plenum, New York) pp. 103–17.
42.
StraubD. (1991). Session of ‘Rigor in information systems research: a discussion of the session papers’, In Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions, NissenH.-E., KleinH.K., and HirschheimR. (North-Holland, Amsterdam) pp. 103–6.
43.
SusmanG. (1983). Action research: a sociotechnical systems perspective, in Beyond Method: Strategies for Social Research, MorganG. (ed) (Sage, Newbury Park) pp. 95–113.
44.
SusmanG., and EveredR. (1978). An assessment of the scientific merits of action research, Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 582–603.
45.
TristE. (1976). Engaging with large-scale systems, in Experimenting with Organizational Life: The Action Research Approach, Clark, A. (Comp.) (Plenum, New York).
46.
Van EyndeD., and BledsoeJ. (1990). The changing practice of organization development, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 11(2), 25–30.
47.
WarmingtonA. (1980). Action research: its method and its implications, Journal of Applied Systems Analysis, 7, 23–39.
48.
WebbC. (1989). Action research: philosophy, methods and personal experiences, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 14, 403–10.
49.
Wood-HarperT. (1989). Comparison of information systems definition methodologies: an action research multiview perspective. PhD Thesis, University of East Anglia.
