IS Action Research: state of the art and future directions

Seminar, Friday 4 November 2005, 10.30 am, Graham Wallas Room (5th floor, Old Building).

Ola Henfridsson, Viktoria Institute, Göteborg, Sweden

Action research (AR) has received recent attention as a research methodology for conducting information systems (IS) research. In this regard, AR is recognised as a form of research that simultaneously seeks to create new knowledge and accomplish change in the practical situations in which it is used. These equally important objectives are often referred to as the dual goal of AR.

However, while the dual goal of AR is typically thought of as a win-win situation for researchers and practitioners, it has been noted that AR projects often result in either combination of much action/ little research or of little action/ much research. In order to overcome this pressing issue, AR theorists have lately proposed sets of aspects, principles, criteria, and lessons as to secure more solid research processes.

While these attempts to improve the quality of AR are welcome, there exists surprisingly little discussion of the future directions of AR in IS. In this talk, I will try to initiate such a discussion by exploring some possible directions for AR in view of ongoing changes in our discipline.

About Ola Henfridsson

Ola Henfridsson manages the Telematics Group at the Viktoria Institute, Göteborg, Sweden. He is also an associate professor in informatics at the School of Information Science, Computer and Electrical Engineering, Halmstad University. Dr Henfridsson holds a PhD degree in Informatics from Umeå University, Sweden, and is a member of the editorial board of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems. Dr Henfridsson has published his research in DATA BASE, Information and Organization, Information Systems Journal, Information Technology and People, MIS Quarterly and other journals in the information systems discipline.

^