Electroencephalography (EEG) as a research tool in the information systems discipline: Foundations, measurement, and applications

The concept of neuro-information systems (neuroIS) has emerged in the IS discipline recently. Since the neuroIS field’s genesis, several neuroIS papers have been published. Investigating empirical papers published in scientific journals and conference proceedings reveals that electroencephalography (EEG) is a widely used tool. Thus, considering its relevance in contemporary research and the fact that it will also play a major role in future neuroIS research, we describe EEG from a layman’s perspective. Because previous EEG descriptions in the neuroIS literature have only scantily outlined theoretical and methodological aspects related to this tool, we urgently need a more thorough one. As such, we inform IS scholars about the fundamentals of EEG in a compact way and discuss EEG’s potential for IS research. Based on the knowledge base provided in this paper, IS researchers can make an informed decision about whether EEG could, or should, become part of their toolbox.