What is Missing from Research on Data in Information Systems? Insights from the Inaugural Workshop on Data Research

Abstract

Data are the building blocks of the ongoing digital revolution, yet there are still many unresolved questions regarding their role in the study of information systems (IS), management, and innovation. As data become increasingly pervasive elements of socio-economic life, we ask whether IS needs to expand the ways in which it conceptualizes data and their role in business and society. This panel report summarizes discussions that took place in the inaugural workshop on data research. The workshop asked what is missing from research on data in IS from four well-known scholars whose work touches upon the topic in different ways. Three main themes emerged from the speakers’ statements that were further discussed by the workshop participants: 1) the need to go beyond traditional ways of conceiving data, 2) the need to investigate the relationship between data and meaning, and 3) the need to study new data management and governance approaches. We present these research themes and connect them with future research directions.