TY - JOUR
T1 - Distilling a body of knowledge for information systems development
AU - Hassan, Nik Rushdi
AU - Mathiassen, Lars
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - As a contribution towards consolidating the information systems (IS) field, we offer a systematic method for distilling a canonical body of knowledge (BOK) for information systems development (ISD), an area that historically accounts for as much as half of all IS research. Based on an integrative synthesis of the literature, we present a map of the most significant ISD research, uncover gaps in its canons and suggest fruitful lines of inquiry for new research. Our review combines citation analysis, which identifies the field's evidence of cumulative tradition, with computer-aided textual analysis, a hermeneutically guided method that organizes the fragmented corpus of ISD literature into coherent knowledge areas. From a pool of over 6500 articles published in the IS Senior Scholars' Basket of Journals, we find 940 IS citation classics, and from that list, 466 ISD articles that offer canonical ISD knowledge distinctive to IS and complementary to other disciplines such as software engineering and project management. From this study, we offer two contributions: (1) a justification for an ISDBOK grounded in the theory of practice and professionalism, and (2) a canonical map of disciplinary ISD knowledge with areas that have demonstrated cumulative tradition and others that require the attention of IS scholars.
AB - As a contribution towards consolidating the information systems (IS) field, we offer a systematic method for distilling a canonical body of knowledge (BOK) for information systems development (ISD), an area that historically accounts for as much as half of all IS research. Based on an integrative synthesis of the literature, we present a map of the most significant ISD research, uncover gaps in its canons and suggest fruitful lines of inquiry for new research. Our review combines citation analysis, which identifies the field's evidence of cumulative tradition, with computer-aided textual analysis, a hermeneutically guided method that organizes the fragmented corpus of ISD literature into coherent knowledge areas. From a pool of over 6500 articles published in the IS Senior Scholars' Basket of Journals, we find 940 IS citation classics, and from that list, 466 ISD articles that offer canonical ISD knowledge distinctive to IS and complementary to other disciplines such as software engineering and project management. From this study, we offer two contributions: (1) a justification for an ISDBOK grounded in the theory of practice and professionalism, and (2) a canonical map of disciplinary ISD knowledge with areas that have demonstrated cumulative tradition and others that require the attention of IS scholars.
KW - IS professionalism
KW - citation analysis
KW - content analysis
KW - cumulative tradition
KW - disciplinary body of knowledge
KW - information systems development (ISD)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85010629624&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85010629624&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/isj.12126
DO - 10.1111/isj.12126
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85010629624
VL - 28
SP - 175
EP - 226
JO - Information Systems Journal
JF - Information Systems Journal
SN - 1350-1917
IS - 1
ER -