The Participatory Paradigm for Applied Information Systems Research

Information systems research continues to be criticised for the fundamental gap between theory and practice. Critics argue that this is largely the result of the methodological inadequacy of the dominant positivist paradigm to the ontological nature of the subject. Studies which recognise the applied nature of the information systems discipline and thus are committed to the production of practically relevant knowledge have adopted action and intervention forms of research. Despite their strength in producing practically relevant knowledge, such studies are scarce because they are rejected for their lack of scientific credence. This paper introduces the participatory worldview as a research paradigm that provides the philosophical legitmisation for action research approaches. The authors present their experiences with participatory information systems inquiry and illustrate the application of participatory research principles in practice.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2001
• Where: ECIS
• Authors: Karin Breu, Joe Peppard
• Keywords: Dominant Positivist Paradigm, ECIS 2001, ECIS 2004, Information Systems, Relevant Knowledge