The Academic Response to Industry Concerns about ODBMS Adoption -An Exploratory Study

Adoption of ODBMS has not been as vigorous as originally expected. This study explores whether research efforts have been directed towards areas of concern indicated by industry as key obstacles to ODBMS adoption. The results indicate that academic research has been inadequate in addressing industry concerns about ODBM

A Discipline Divided: Globalization and Parochialism in Information Systems Research

This research note examines an apparent paradox in Information Systems (IS) research. This paradox relates to the parochial nature of much of the published IS research (both in terms of the chosen journal outlet and the literature cited), notwithstanding the global nature of the phenomena being investigated. It does so by reviewing author \u27nationality\u27 in four leading IS journals over a seven-year period (1994-2000), and by reviewing the \u27nationality\u27 of the literature cited by these authors. Two of the journals are published in the USA and two are published in Europe. Despite apparent recognition of increasing globalization in our field, brought about - in part at least - by information technology (IT), the data provide firm evidence that the IS discipline is marked by a distinct parochialism along national, or at least, regional lines. A reorientation appears to be required if leading IS journals are not to continue to be the unwitting mouthpieces of unwitting researchers, publishing the results of partial, culturally biased research. The findings also contain profound implications for published material based on citation analyses and on our understanding of what constitutes the appellation \u27international\u27 in our discipline

Identifying and Evaluating the Universe of Outlets for Information Systems Research: Ranking the Journals

We use a survey instrument to identify the universe of journal publication outlets for information systems (IS) research, to identify the IS journals, and to observe the value of the outlets to IS researchers. In an online survey we asked IS researchers to rate the value of IS publication outlets and to categorize them into IS journals, allied discipline journals, and professional and managerial magazines and journals. 1129 validated and non-duplicate respondents rated 326 journals, which we present in three rank-ordered lists, one for each of IS journals, allied discipline journals, and professional and managerial magazines and journals. In addition, we graphically present trends in the ranking of five selected journals from 1991 through 2003. This is the first attempt to identify the universe of IS journal publishing outlets, the first to rank the value of IS journals separately, and the first attempt to rank the value of IS publication outlets without pre-selecting the set of journals to be ranked

Factors Affecting the Scientific Impact of Literature Reviews: A Scientometric Study

Standalone literature reviews are fundamental in every scientific discipline. Their value is reflected by a profound scientific impact in terms of citations. Although previous empirical research has shown that this impact has a large variance, it is largely unknown which specific factors influence the impact of literature reviews. Against this background, the purpose of our study is to shed light on the driving factors that make a difference in the scientific impact of literature reviews. Our analysis of an exhaustive set of 214 IS literature reviews reveals that factors on the author level (e.g., expertise, collaboration, and conceptual feedback) and on the article level (e.g., methodological rigor) are significant and robust predictors of scientific impact over and above journal level factors. These insights enhance our understanding of what distinguishes highly cited literature reviews. In so doing, our study informs future guidelines on literature reviews and provides insights for prospective authors

IS Journal Quality Assessment Using the Author Affiliation Index

Research productivity is one means by which academic units attain legitimacy within their institutional milieu and make their case for resources. Journal quality assessment is an important component for assessing faculty research productivity. We introduce the Author Affiliation Index (AAI), a simple method for assessing journal quality, to the IS domain. Essentially, the AAI of a journal is the percentage of academic authors publishing in that journal who are affiliated with a base set of high-quality academic institutions. Besides explaining the AAI, we demonstrate its use with a set of well-known IS journals, discuss its rankings vis-à-vis those resulting from other methods, and provide an example of how the basic AAI approach can be modified by changing the base school set that is used to define journal quality. The AAI has a number of advantages. First, it is a simple, low cost and transparent method for assessing any journal given a base school set. Second, it provides a consistent ranking of journals, particularly of those beyond the top consensus journals where less consistency is achieved with other measures. Third, it enables new journals to be rapidly assessed against more established ones without the lags or costs of other measures. The AAI provides another indicator of journal quality that is different from surveys and citation analyses

The Evolving Intellectual Diversity of the IS Discipline: Evidence from the Referent Disciplines

For over 20 years, researchers expressed their concern for the lack of theoretical development in the Information Systems discipline and the lack of a cumulative research tradition. The aim of this study is to investigate the intellectual structure of the IS discipline through an analysis of 993 mainstream research articles published in selected journals and proceedings during the previous decade (1991-2000). We explore the variety of researcher perspectives in the discipline, based on the theoretical frameworks adopted by these studies. This examination shows the relative mindshare of different theoretical frameworks and informs the self-reflection that is frequently undertaken in our discipline. The study generates categorizations to map theories to frameworks, which are then located in a three-dimensional ontology. The resulting mappings should help researchers understand the scope of past IS research and identify gaps in theoretical development

Communicating MIS research: A citation study of journal influence

Due to difficulties with objectively evaluating the quality of MIS research, attitudes about journals in which this research is published play an important role in determining the allocation of research resources. To provide a more objective basis for these attitudes, we examine journal influence in communicating MIS research over a 9-year period using citation analyses, researcher perceptions, and publishing patterns of top MIS research universities. As a result of these analyses, we identify a cohesive stable group of highly influential journals which can reasonably be called an MIS core. An internal ranking of this core is then determined which is significantly different from prior rankings.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31049/1/0000726.pd

Development and Assessment of a Spatial Decision Support System for Conservation Planning

Land conservation is frequently cited as the most effective means of limiting the detrimental effects of anthropogenic forces on natural resources. Because governmental entities can be hampered by fiscal and political concerns, land trusts are increasing relied on to protect habitat. However, these groups often lack the analysis and research tools necessary to meet their mission. Geographic Information System (GIs) technologies such as Spatial Decision Support Systems (SDSS) offer the promise of allowing decision makers to explore their decision space at a landscape level of analysis. But critics have charged that research in this arena is largely anecdotal in nature. This research explores the validity of this contention and presents two applied empirical studies of user satisfaction with an SDSS. In order to assess the overall maturity of the GIs discipline, articles in four journals from 1996 to 2001 were analyzed based on the scientific rigor of the research strategies employed. The results showed that, while there was an increase in the breadth of methodologies employed, the majority of studies employed qualitative ( hypothesis generating ) rather than empirical ( hypothesis testing ) designs. The findings showed need for scientifically rigorous studies in applied settings. An operational SDSS was designed that identified and prioritized suitable land parcels for protection given multiple criteria and user values. The SDSS was customized for a single land trust in Maine and four theories of user acceptance of technology were tested using a modification of the traditional case study methodology. The Relative Advantage theory provided the best explanation for user acceptance of the technology. The research design also overcame the hurdles to conducting case study research in an empirical manner. In the next stage of research, the SDSS was distributed to eighty-one land trusts for testing. An analysis of the twenty-four returned surveys indicated strong support for the User Competence theory. To the author\u27s knowledge, these two studies represented the first experimental SDSS research in an applied rather than laboratory setting

Review of management information systems research: A management support emphasis

This article organizes, describes, and evaluates MIS research from 1981 through 1985 in order to provide an understanding of what constitutes MIS research and to indicate potentially rich areas for future research. The review emphasizes information systems research in support of management decision making as opposed, for example, to research into the management of information resources or the development of strategic information systems.Preliminary work includes developing a definition of MIS, adopting an organizing framework, and choosing journals for review. Once this foundation is laid, MIS research content and methodology up to 1980 are summarized based upon the findings of the First International Conference on Information Systems. Finally, MIS research from 1981 to 1985 is described and evaluated in terms of content and methodology.It was found that more progress has been made in identifying appropriate research questions than in answering those questions. Significant progress in generating answers may be made in the future due to a healthy shift in the choice of methodologies (shift from more speculative-conceptual to more theory-based/theory-generating empirical). However, progress toward developing a global notion (theory) of MIS seems relatively slow. This lack of progress seems to be a symptom of: - Lack of progress in defining the product of MIS (information). - Too much research focus upon what relationships exist instead of focusing upon why relationships exist. - Underlying problems in the natural sciences paradigm currently associated with MIS research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27465/1/0000506.pd