TY - GEN
T1 - Historical development of research methods in the information systems discipline
AU - Riedl, René
AU - Rückel, David Christoph
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Case study
KW - Empirical research
KW - Field experiment
KW - Laboratory experiment
KW - NeuroIS
KW - Research method
KW - Survey
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84870329321&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9781618390981
T3 - 17th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2011, AMCIS 2011
SP - 240
EP - 253
BT - 17th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2011, AMCIS 2011
PB - Association for Information Systems (AIS)
T2 - Americas Conference on Information Systems
Y2 - 4 August 2011 through 7 August 2011
ER -