A Multi-Grounded Design Research Process

  • Conference paper
Global Perspectives on Design Science Research (DESRIST 2010)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 6105))

  • 5261 Accesses

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in the philosophy and constituents of design research by a vast amount of IS-scholars. There are several unresolved concerns and issues in design research (DR). Some examples are the outcomes of design research, the role of theorizing in DR, how to conduct evaluation and validation, and the need for different grounding processes to generate valid knowledge from design research endeavors. This paper describes a multi-grounded approach for design research; consisting of three types of grounding processes (theoretical, empirical and internal grounding). The purpose is to investigate DR-based design knowledge and its roles during design research and design practice. A key feature in this approach is the division between the meta-design (within design research) producing abstract design knowledge and the empirical design practice producing situational knowledge and artefacts. The multi-grounding approach to design research will be illustrated by the support of two design cases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
EUR 32.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or Ebook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free ship** worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ågerfalk, P.: Grounding through Operationalization: Constructing Tangible Theory in IS Research. In: Proc of the 12th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2004), Turku (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Ågerfalk, P.J.: Investigating Actability Dimensions: A Language/Action Perspective on Criteria for Information Systems Evaluation. Interacting with Computers 16(5), 957–988 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Albinsson, L., Forsgren, O., Lind, M.: e-Me Stories & Scenarios - The Ideal Electronic Galaxy of the Student, University College of Borås, Sweden (2006a)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Albinsson, L., Lind, M., Forsgren, O., Ozan, H.: Turning the internet around - e-Me: The Students ideal e-Service. In: Cunningham, P., Cunningham, M. (eds.) Exploiting the Knowledge Economy: Issues, Applications, Case Studies. IOS Press, Amsterdam (2006b)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Albinsson, L., Lind, M., Forsgren, O.: Co-Design: An approach to border crossing, Network Innovation. In: Cunningham, P., Cunningham, M. (eds.) Expanding the Knowledge Economy: Issues, Applications, Case Studies. IOS Press, Amsterdam (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Baskerville, R., Pries-Heje, J.: Grounded action research: a method for understanding IT in practice. Accting. Mgmt. & Info. Tech. 9, 1–23 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Baskerville, R.: What design science is not. European Journal of Information Systems 17, 441–443 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Churchman, C.W.: The design of inquiring systems. Basic Books, New York (1971)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cronholm, S.: Illustrating Multi-Grounded Theory. In: 3rd European Conference on Research Methodology for Business and Management Studies, Reading (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Dewey, J.: Logic, the Theory of Inquiry. H. Holt and Company, New York (1938)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Forsgren, O.: Samskapande Datortillämpningar: En systemteoretisk ansats för lösning av vissa förändringsproblem vid administrativ datoranvändning (Doctoral thesis), Umeå universitet (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Goldkuhl, G.: Design Theories in Information Systems – A Need for Multi-Grounding. Journal of Information Technology and Application (JITTA) 6(2), 59–72 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Goldkuhl, G.: Innovation in a regulated environment? - Legal barriers for e-government development. International Journal of Public Information Systems 2009(2), 77–95 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Goldkuhl, G.: Pragmatic Qualities of Information Systems – Actability Criteria for Design and Evaluation. Invited paper to the 11th International Conference on Informatics and Semiotics in Organisations (ICISO), Bei**g (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Gregor, S., Jones, D.: The Anatomy of a Design Theory. Journal of the Association for Information Systems (JAIS) 8(5), Article 2, 312–335 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Iivari, J.: A Paradigmatic Analysis of Information Systems As a Design Science. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems 19(2), 39–64 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Hevner, A.R.: A Three Cycle View of Design Science Research. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems 19(2), 87–92 (2007)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Hevner, A.R., March, S.T., Park, J., Ram, S.: Design Science in Information Systems Research. MISQ 28, 75–106

    Google Scholar 

  19. Kuechler, B., Vaishnavi, V.: On theory development in design science research: anatomy of a research project. European Journal of Information Systems 17, 489–504 (2008)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lind, M., Berglund, S.: e-Me – the students best friend. In: The 14th European University Information Systems Organisation (EUNIS) congress, EUNIS 2008 VISION IT - Visions for IT in Higher Education, University of Aarhus Universitet, Denmark (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  21. Lind, M., Goldkuhl, G.: How to develop a Multi-Grounded Theory: The evolution of a business process theory. Australasian Journal of Information Systems (AJIS) 13(2), 68–85 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Lind, M., Rittgen, P.: Challenges of Co-Design: The Case of e-Me. In: Handbook of Research on Socio-Technical Design. Idea Group, Hershey (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  23. March, S.T., Smith, G.F.: Design and natural science research on information technology. Decision Support Systems 15, 251–266 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. McKay, J., Marshall, P.: The dual imperatives of action research. Information Technology & People 14(1) (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Medina-Mora, R., Winograd, T., Flores, R., Flores, F.: The Action Workflow Approach to Workflow Management Technology. In: Turner, J., Kraut, R. (eds.) Proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, CSCW 1992. ACM Press, New York (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Mumford, E.: Designing human systems, the ETHICS approach. Manchester Business School, Manchester, UK (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Nunamaker, J.F., Minder, C., Purdin, T.D.M.: Systems Development in Information Systems Research. Journal of Management Information Systems I Winter 1990-91 7(3), 89–106 (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Pries-Heje, J., Baskerville, R., Venable, J.: Strategies for design science research evaluation. In: Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Information Systems, Galway, Ireland, pp. 255–266 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Rapoport, R.: Three dilemmas of action research. Human Relations 23, 499–513 (1970)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Scott, W.R.: Institutions and organizations. Sage, Thousand Oaks (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  31. Simmons, O.E., Gregory, T.A.: Grounded Action: Achieving Optimal and Sustainable Change. Forum Qualitative Social Research (FQS) 4(3) (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  32. Sjöström, P.J., Ågerfalk, J.: An Analytic Framework for Design-oriented Research Concepts. In: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems, San Francisco, California, August 6-9 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Sjöström, J., Goldkuhl, G.: Socio-instrumental pragmatism in action. In: Whitworth, B., De Moor, A. (eds.) Handbook of Research on Socio-Technical Design and Social Networking Systems. IGI, Hershey (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Strauss, A., Corbin, J.: Basics of qualitative research. Techniques and procedures for develo** Grounded Theory, 2nd edn. Sage, Newbury Park (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Venable, J.: The Role of Theory and Theorising in Design Science Research. In: First International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology, Claremont, California, pp. 1–18 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Walls, J.G., Widmeyer, G.R., El Sawy, O.A.: Building an Information System Design Theory for Vigilant EIS. Information Systems Research 3(1) (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Walls, J.G., Widmeyer, G.R., El Sawy, O.A.: Assessing Information System Design Theory in Perspective: How Useful was our 1992 Initial Rendition? Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA) 6(2), 43–58 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Goldkuhl, G., Lind, M. (2010). A Multi-Grounded Design Research Process. In: Winter, R., Zhao, J.L., Aier, S. (eds) Global Perspectives on Design Science Research. DESRIST 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6105. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13335-0_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13335-0_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13334-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13335-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Navigation