Interpretation, intervention, and reduction in the organizational laboratory: a framework for in-context information system research

Abstract

Understanding how technical artefacts are created and used within organizations is a central aspect of the IS research discipline. The conduct of research in an organizational setting is thus a major issue for the IS community. A research framework for in-context IS research is presented and used to position purified and hybrid forms of research method. From the framework theoretical support for an `action case' research method is presented. Two IS research cases are presented and analyzed using the IS research framework, leading to a practice-based rationale for an action case method. Characteristics of the action case method, a hybrid of interpretation and intervention, are described. Learning at three levels of analysis—concrete, general, and meta—is proposed and used as a way of reflecting on IS research methods and IS research frameworks.