BAD 84045 Fall 2007 Howard

OFFICE HOURS: By appointment. I'm available almost any time by phone or E-mail. You're strongly encouraged to get to me by e-mail ( ghoward@kent.edu) which should usually yield a very fast response.

COMMUNICATING: E-mail is the main way we will communicate in the course outside of the classroom. 

TEXT: None. We will use a mix of handouts and material available from electronic sources. 

COURSE CONCEPT: For several years we have chosen not to teach basic system development methods in this course because IS Ph.D. candidates are already well-schooled in this area. Instead, we've adapted the course to focus on methodologies for IS research and publication while making heavy use of development methodology research literature as examples. To that end, we will engage in two activities. 

1. Review and Critique of IS Research. We will read, study, and critique several articles that were recently published in top-rated refereed IS research journals. The articles have been carefully selected to show you a mix of classical hypothesis-testing methods, case study, pure theory, model development, pure concept development, and meta-analysis. The manuscript submission and review process will be highlighted later in the term, along with key academic career management issues.

2. Development of a Research Paper: Based on what we've learned from assessing published articles, you'll create an outline and the first two main sections of an IS research paper in this course. In that regard, this course articulates loosely with BAD 84007, taught by Dr. Weinroth, in that you can develop the "front end" of a paper in this course, then for Dr. Weinroth's course develop the back end, finish the entire piece, and submit it. This paper could grow into a published piece, a conference presentation, or your dissertation. This BAD 84045 course will provide liberal time for you to develop this paper and get course credit for that effort. 

COURSE DESIGN: The course will be conducted primarily electronically. We will meet in person on the following Wednesday evenings: August 29, September 5, September 19, October 10, October 17, November 7, and November 14. I'll also be available on campus the last half of finals week if you need to consult with me on your research paper before turning it in. For the other class dates of the semester, we will exchange materials and critiques electronically. The "Course Schedule" which follows outlines what we'll be doing and when. 

ACCESSING RESEARCH ARTICLES: I have master copies of the research articles we'll read and if you wish you can borrow these to make copies. Otherwise, it's easier (and cheaper) to access them online. Go to http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10000 and under "Services" click on Proxy/Off-Campus Access. Follow the directions there to set up your PC to access the databases if you have not already done so. You will then be able to click under "Research" on the "Research Databases" link, then on "Academic Search Complete" as an off campus proxy user. When you're prompted for a userid and password, use your regular @kent.edu username and password. Depending upon how your system is configured, some of the links I put in the on-line schedule (below) will work and in other cases you'll have to navigate to the articles before printing them. 

DELIVERABLES

ARTICLE CRITIQUES: Each of you will do a one page written article critique, as shown in the accompanying schedule. Each critique should contain: One sentence statement of the research problem, comments on the relevance of the problem, a critique of the validity of the research methods used (instruments, sample, sample selection, statistical procedures), and a critique of the writing style. Comment on the likely impact of the article on future IS theory and practice. Do not restate the findings of the article -- critique it. I'll write the first critique as an example. 

The Following Policies apply to everyone in this course.  

A.   Students attending the course who do not have the proper prerequisites risk being deregistered from the class.  

B.   Students have responsibility to ensure they are properly enrolled in classes.  You are advised to review your official class schedule (using Web for Students) during the first two weeks of the semester to ensure you are properly enrolled in this class and section.  Should you find an error in your class schedule, you have until Friday, September 7, 2007 to correct the error with your advising office.  If registration errors are not corrected by this date and you continue to attend and participate in classes for which you are not officially enrolled, you are advised now that you will not receive a grade at the conclusion of the term for any class in which you are not properly registered.  

C.   Academic Honesty:  Cheating means to misrepresent the source, nature, or other conditions of your academic work (e.g., tests, papers, projects, assignments) so as to get undeserved credit.  The use of the intellectual property of others without giving them appropriate credit is a serious academic offense.  It is the University's policy that cheating or plagiarism result in receiving a failing grade for the work or course.  Repeat offenses result in dismissal from the University.  

D.   Withdrawal: For Fall 2007, the course withdrawal deadline is Sunday, November 4, 2007 .  Withdrawal before the deadline results in a "W" on the official transcript; after the deadline a grade must be calculated and reported.  

E.   Students with Disabilities: University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required.  Please note, you must first verify your eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Service Center (330-672-3391) or visit http://www.registrars.kent.edu/disability/ for more information on registration procedures.

Article Critique	20 %
Research Paper	65 %
Final (take home format)	15 %

1. Understand the mechanics of the research article preparation, submission, review, revision, and resubmission processes. 

2. Understand the distinctions among the various types of research articles, including classical hypothesis testing, pure concept, pure theory, case, model development, and meta-analysis. 

3. Develop the ability to critically analyze published or proposed IS research projects for relevance, impact, validity, replicability, and readability. Learn to avoid executing projects for their own sake.

4. Become familiar with the key top IS research journals.

 

Date	Activity	Article	Meeting Method
29 August	Course Introduction and Procedures	None	On Campus
5 September	Written Critique: Howard Half Page Draft of Paper Idea Due	Classical Empirical Hypothesis-Testing Article:   Wallace, Linda; Keil, Mark and Rai, Arun. How software risk affects project performance: An investigation of the dimensions of risk and an exploratory model. Decision Sciences, Vol. 35, No. 2, Spring 2004, 289-321. Click here for full text.	On Campus
12 September			No Class
19 September	Written Critique: Paper Research Question Due	Classical Empirical Hypothesis-Testing Article: Armstrong, Deborah J., and Hardgrave, Bill C. Understanding mindshift learning: The transition to object-oriented development. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 3, September 2007, 453-474. Click here for full text.	On Campus
26 September	Paper Introduction Section Draft Due		Electronic
3 October	Career orientation on typical research publication expectations	Career orientation: Dennis, Alan R., et al. Research standards for promotion and tenure in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 1, March 2006, 1-12.  Click here for full text.	Electronic
10 October	Paper Literature Review Outline Due Written Critique:	Case Study:   Montleaegre, Ramiro and Keil, Mark. De-escalating information technology: Lessons from the Denver International Airport. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 2, September 2000, 417-447. Click here for full text.	On Campus
17 October	Written Critique:  Discussion about the review and resubmission process.	Meta-analysis:   Dennis, Alan R.; Wixom, Barbara H. and Vandenberg, Robert J. Understanding fit and appropriation effects in group support systems via meta-analysis. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2, June 2001, 167-193.   Click here for full text.	On Campus
24 October	Paper Methodology Outline Draft Due Career discussion about relevance of MIS research	Career orientation: Chiasson, Mike W. and Davidson, Elizabeth. Taking industry seriously in Information Systems research. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 29, No. 4, December 2005, 591-605.	Electronic
31 October			No Class
7 November	Finished Paper Introduction Due Written Critique: None	Pure Model Development:   O'Leary, Michael Boyer and Cummings, Jonathon N. The spatial, temporal, and configurational characteristics of geographic dispersion in teams. MIS Quarterly. Vol. 31, No. 3, September 2007, 433-452. Click here for full text.	On Campus
14 November	Finished Paper Literature Review Due	Exploratory Survey Research:   Iivari, Juhani and Huisman, Magda. The relationship between organizational culture and the deployment of systems development methodologies. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 31. No. 1, March 2007, 35-58.  Click here for full text.	On Campus
21 November			No Class (Thanksgiving)
28 November	Continue work on paper.  More discussion about academic career tracks.	Career orientation: Saunders, Carol and Benbasat, Izak. A Camel going through the eye of a needle. MIS Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 3, September, 2007, iv-xviii.  Click here for full text.	Electronic
5 December	Finished Paper Due (Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology Outline)		Electronic