Analytical methods for Information Systems

Professionals

Week 13 Lecture 1

CONCLUSION

Please fill in your surveys

www.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/surveys.html

THEY ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE END OF THIS WEEK

 

Summary of mid-course survey

 

45 returned questionnaires

          Nearly unanimous comment that assignments are too

much work for only 5% of course marks

         Most appreciate the message board and announcements

         80% enjoy/find the tutorials interesting/helpful

Majority like the guest lecturers (60%)

         Average overall score for “How well is the course going for you” 7.5.

         The textbook was widely held to be clear and easy to understand

         2 respondents would like a higher level of content

         Joys included:interesting course, the variety of lecturers, learning about action research, critical thinking, learning useful skills, survey techniques

         Frustrations included: too many IS assignments overlapping, the variety of lecture formats,

         Most valuable learnings included: research skills, working in groups, refining searches, time management, improving reading skills, critical analysis, the learning in tutorials, communication, guest lecturers.

         Suggestions included improving the web-site and the availability of lecture notes and tutorial worksheets,

What’s the point?

TODAY• What were the objectives of the course?• What can you expect in the exam?• Clarifying some significant issues

– Research approach

– Refining the question

• Questions?• What to do in the next 3.5 weeks other

than panicking.

What is the question?

Who wants to know?

What is your answer?

How do you know if it is right?

Use analytical methods to:

Formulate a question precisely

Have dependable techniques to gather and analyse data to answer questions

Collect and analyse feedback

Needs analysisEvaluation of technologyDesignFeasibilityMeasurement of performance and

alignment (auditing)Changing

Information Systems (IS) professionals in today's organisations are leaders in change and development.

Your success in this field will be aided by your being able to apply formal methods of information collection and analysis to interpreting evidence on IS issues.

By the end of this course you should be able to:

understand the purpose, relevance and effectiveness of using analytical methods in IS,

identify and articulate the research problem and its context,

find, understand, analyse and evaluate literature related to the research question,

 

write a research proposal, collect data using both qualitative

and quantitative investigative methods,

analyse and interpret that evidence, present and communicate your

results verbally and in writing.

Lectures

The Research Process

Defining the problem

Quantitative analyticalmethods

Finding and reading the literature

What is data?

Qualitative analytical methods

Planning and designing research

Revision

Presenting findings

Applying research to business

The exam is worth 50% of your final mark and you must pass the exam to

pass the course.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT IN THE EXAM?

(that I can reasonably tell you about)

SECTION A30 marks

• Scenario • Followed by 4 questions with sub-questions

which allow you to apply your understanding of the how you would select, justify and apply (in detail) specific qualitative analytical methods to the problem.

• The questions will always indicate the number of points you need to make to obtain the marks specified.

SECTION B30 marks

• Scenario• Followed by 10 questions which allow

you to apply your understanding of the research process to solving the problem. The emphasis in this scenario is more on quantitative methods.

WHAT WILL NOT BE IN THE EXAM

• You will not be examined on finding or reading the literature. That has already been assessed through your assignments

• You will not be examined on the content of the guest lectures who presented case studies, Gartner and David Nathan.

CLARIFYING ISSUES NO1: Research Approaches

Generalisations

Theories

Hypotheses

Observations

The Research Process

Four elements of research

Epistemology

Theoretical perspective

Methodology

Methods

What do we recognise as knowledge

How do we know what we know?

What is “true”

Objectivist = meaning and reality exist apart from anybody being conscious of them Constructivist = meaning derives from our interaction with the world

Subjectivist = meaning is imposed on an object by the subject

•Positivist •Interpretive•Critical

Plan of action, research design and

why

The philosphical stance that underlies our chosen methodology – our assumptions

Techniques•Surveys•Interviews•observation

Four Elements of the Research Process

•What methods do we propose to use?•What methodology governs our choice and use of methods?•What theoretical perspective lies behind the methodology in question?•What epistemology informs this theoretical perspective?

Methods

•Research methods are the techniques or procedures we plan to use in our research•Research methods are used to gather and analyse data•When talking about research methods we talk at a very detailed level•The choice of methods is central to the progress and success of our research project and depend on:

– Purpose of the research– Location of the research– Position of the researcher– Cost ($, time etc.)

Methodology

•The research methodology describes our strategy or plan of action•This is the research design – shaping our choice of methods and linking that choice to the research outcomes•Gives a rationale for our choice of methods and the way we employ those methods

Theoretical Perspective•The assumptions we bring to our chosen methodology. The philosophical stance that we are taking in our research•By articulating our theoretical perspective we present our view of the human world and ground our assumptions i.e. our way of looking at the world and making sense of it. Examples:

– Positivist– Critical – Interpretivist

•Our theoretical perspective (way of looking at the world) involves knowledge and embodies a particular understanding of “how we know what we know”.

– “Epistemology is concerned with providing a philosophical grounding for deciding what kinds of knowledge are possible and how we can ensure that they are both adequate and legitimate” (Maynard 1994, p10)

e.g.– Objectivism– Constructionism (the epistemological stance of many

qualitative researchers)

The four elements inform one another

Epistemology

Theoretical perspective

Methodology

Methods

CLARIFYING ISSUES NO2: Refining the question

Student requirements?

Computer resources?

Access?

What to do in the next 3.5 weeks instead of panicking

• Print out the course schedule and stick it on your wall. It is the roadmap for what you need to understand.

• Revise using the lecture notes, the textbook and the lecture handouts including the McCrotty article, the list of types of research and the table of research approaches. Revising the other articles will also extend your repetoire.

• Use the message board to discuss issues with each other and to ask me questions. I will monitor it all through the study period right up until the exam.

• Study with a friend or a group.

GOOD LUCK