Objectives

This course is an introduction to information systems (IS) research practices. It is dedicated to students who consider pursuing their curriculum with a master thesis in Management of Information Systems (MIS) and/or doctoral studies in MIS. The goal of this course is to provide students the foundations of IS research and to understand the academic requirements for their IS master thesis.

Through this course, students will learn about to build a research question, to read relevant research papers with a critical view, and to define an appropriated research method and plan.

At completion of the course the student will have acquired the following:

• Knowledge: Be conversant with research in the IS field and IS methods (Qualitative, quantitative and Design science research methods) that are relevant for their research area and on a general level.
• Skills: Be able to identify key research issues and formulate good research question, and provide an appropriated literature review.
• General competence: Be aware of how to execute their own research /master thesis with academic integrity and in line with ethical codes and principles.

Contents

The course is structured around a set of fundamental questions related to IS master thesis, IS research and associated methodology, some of which are listed hereafter.

• What are the main requirements of the IS master thesis? How to conduct it?
• What is IS research? and what is specific about it?
• What are the most popular IS research methods (qualitative, quantitative and design science research methods)?
• What is valid knowledge? How to produce valid knowledge?
• What is the notion of state of the art and why is it important in research? And how to conduct a literature review?
• What is a scientific publication and what is the process to produce one?
• How to conduct a rigorous master thesis using IS methods (Quali/Quanti/ DSR)

The course will be taught (both in French and in English) through lectures and seminars where there will be a strong emphasis on class participation and discussion.

Detailed schedule

The two-hour session will aim to present and discuss the key elements, and interact, answer your questions and do exercises. Hereafter is a detailed schedule. It includes coaching sessions to help you prepare for the assignments.

• Wednesday March 9, 09:00 – 11:00
• Wednesday March 16, 09:00 – 11:00
• Wednesday March 30, 09:00 – 11:00 (coaching session)
• Wednesday April 6, 09:00 – 11:00
• Wednesday April 27, 09:00 – 11:00
• Wednesday May 4, 08:30 – 11:30
• Wednesday May 25, 09:00 – 11:00 (coaching session)

References

• https://aisnet.org/page/ISResearch

Evaluation

First attempt

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

Two individual assignments:

1. Literature review (50%)
2. Research proposal (slides + presentation/video) (50%)

Retake

Exam:

Without exam (cf. terms)  

Evaluation:

Students will have to submit a new version of the two initial assignments by following the initial guidelines on Moodle:

- their Research proposal

- their literature review