Abstract
This chapter presents the contextual framework for the second phase of a multi-method, multiple study of the information systems (IS) academic discipline in Australia. The chapter outlines the genesis of a two-phase Australian study, and positions the study as the precursor to a larger Pacific-Asia study. Analysis of existing literature on the state of IS and on relevant theory underpins a series of individual Australian state case studies summarised in this chapter and represented as separate chapters in the book. This chapter outlines the methodological approach employed, with emphasis on the case-study method of the multiple state studies. The process of multiple peer review of the studies is described. Importantly, this chapter summarises and analyses each of the subsequent chapters of this book, emphasising the role of a framework developed to guide much of the data gathering and analysis. This chapter also highlights the process involved in conducting the meta-analysis reported in the final chapter of this book, and summarises some of the main results of the meta-analysis.
Table of Contents
This book represents the second phase of a multi-method, multiple study of the IS academic discipline in Australian universities (the ‘IS-in-Oz’ study). In the first phase, drawing on Whitley’s theory of scientific change—as encapsulated in a framework proposed by Ridley (2006a)—the study analyses the degree of ‘professionalisation’ of the IS discipline, the overarching research question being, ‘To what extent is IS a distinct and mature discipline in Australia?’ Completion of the first phase of the study was marked by publication, in December 2006, of a special edition (vol. 14, no. 1) of the Australasian Journal of Information Systems (AJIS).