This article defines and discusses one of these qualitative methods - the case research strategy Suggestions are provided for researchers who wish to undertake research employing this approach Criteria for the evaluation of case research are established and several characteristics useful for categorizing the studies are identified A sample of papers drawn from information systems journals is reviewed The paper concludes with examples of research areas that are particularly well-suited to investigation using the case research approach

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The case research strategy in studies of information systems

Theory in Practice: Increasing Professional Effectiveness

Introduction PART ONE: SITUATING THE DISCOVERY OF GROUNDED THEORY Situating the Discovery of Grounded Theory within the Tradition of Qualitative Methods Situating Grounded Theory within Its Philosophical, Sociological and Personal Contexts PART TWO: THE GROUNDED THEORY RESEARCH APPROACH Distinguishing Characteristics of Grounded Theories Grounded Theory's Research Operations Evolution of Grounded Theory's Research Operations PART THREE: THE GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH IN MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION STUDIES Grounded Theory in Studies of Management and Organization Writing Grounded Theory

Grounded Theory in Management Research

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Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and Practices

Design research (DR) positions information technology artifacts at the core of the Information Systems discipline. However, dominant DR thinking takes a technological view of the IT artifact, paying scant attention to its shaping by the organizational context. Consequently, existing DR methods focus on building the artifact and relegate evaluation to a subsequent and separate phase. They value technological rigor at the cost of organizational relevance, and fail to recognize that the artifact emerges from interaction with the organizational context even when its initial design is guided by the researchers' intent.

We propose action design research (ADR) as a new DR method to address this problem. ADR reflects the premise that IT artifacts are ensembles shaped by the organizational context during development and use. The method conceptualizes the research process as containing the inseparable and inherently interwoven activities of building the IT artifact, intervening in the organization, and evaluating it concurrently. The essay describes the stages of ADR and associated principles that encapsulate its underlying beliefs and values. We illustrate ADR through a case of competence management at Volvo IT.

Action design research

December 1978, volume 23 This article describes the deficiencies of positivist science for generating knowledge for use in solving problems that members of organizations face. Action research is introduced as a method for correcting these deficiencies. When action research is tested against the criteria of positivist science, action research is found not to meet its critical tests. The appropriateness of positivist science is questioned as a basis for judging the scientific merits of action research. Action research can base its legitimacy as science in philosophical traditions that are different from those which legitimate positivist science. Criteria and methods of science appropriate to action research are offered.

Gerald I. Susman

Papers

An Assessment of the Scientific Merits of Action Research.

The Concept of Status Congruence as a Basis to Predict Task Allocations in Autonomous Work Groups.