Historical Development of Research Methods in the Information Systems Discipline

Description

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.

Period	05 Dec 2011
Event title	AMCIS 2011
Event type	Conference
Location	AustriaShow on map