The Intellectual Advancement of Human-Computer Interaction Research: A Critical Assessment of the MIS Literature (1990-2008)

This paper assesses the intellectual advancement of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) scholarship as one of the five research streams of the Management Information Systems (MIS) discipline. It particularly demonstrates the vitality and maturity that the HCI stream (or sub-discipline) has achieved in recent years, and adds to the few studies that draw an overarching picture of HCI. This study uses the same approach as that of Zhang and Li (2005), and delineates the intellectual development of HCI research in MIS by employing a multifaceted assessment of the published HCI articles over a period of 19 years (1990-2008) in eight primary MIS journals. In addition, this study includes several journal special issues and two book collections in the assessment. Twenty-four specific questions are addressed to answer the following five mega-research questions about the HCI sub-discipline: (1) What constitutes HCI’s intellectual substance? (2) What relationships does HCI have with other disciplines? (3) How is HCI evolving? (4) What are the patterns of HCI publication in the primary MIS journals? And, (5) Who are the contributing scholars? A number of areas for future research are predicted, along with a discussion of potential future directions for the sub-discipline. This study is of interest to researchers in the HCI sub-discipline, the MIS discipline, and other related disciplines to inform future research, collaboration, publication, and education. It should also be of interest to doctoral students for identifying potential topics for dissertation research and to identify academic institutions for future employment where such research is understood, appreciated, and encouraged

The Intellectual Development of Human-Computer Interaction Research: A Critical Assessment of the MIS Literature (1990-2002)

As one of the five research streams of the Management Information Systems (MIS) discipline, Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) was predicted to resurge in the post-millennium era. To date, however, few studies have either synthesized existing studies or drawn an overarching picture of this sub-discipline. This study delineates the intellectual development of HCI research in MIS by a multifaceted assessment of the published HCI articles over a period of 13 years (1990-2002) in seven prime MIS journals: MISQ, ISR, JMIS, Decision Sciences, Management Science, DATA BASE, and JAIS. Twenty-two specific questions are addressed to answer the following five general research questions about the HCI sub-discipline: (1) What constitutes its intellectual substance? (2) What relationships does it have with other disciplines? (3) What are its recent evolutions? (4) What are the patterns of publishing HCI studies in the primary MIS journals? And, (5) Who are its contributing members? We use classification approach to address these questions. Descriptive analyses, including co-occurrence and cross-facet analyses, depict the key relationships. Trend analyses demonstrate recent evolutions. We present number of areas for future research, along with a discussion of potential future directions for the sub-discipline. This study should be of interest to researchers in this sub-discipline, in the MIS discipline, and in other related disciplines for future research, collaboration, publication, and education. It should also be of interest to doctoral students to identify potential research topics for dissertation research and to identify academic institutions for future employment where such research is understood, appreciated, and encouraged