Start Date
12-13-2015
Description
Although it is accepted that to make a contribution, Information Systems (IS) research must be novel and provide utility, these characteristics are insufficient to account for the cogency or persuasion that research makes a contribution. Novelty and utility are not self-evident and authors need to articulate an argument that their paper makes a contribution in relation to the discourse to which it seeks to contribute. We use the Habermasian ideal of argumentation to explicate the rhetorical, dialectic, logical and socio-institutional dimensions of cogent argument. We use two examples of published research to illustrate how these elements can be extended to frame research as a contribution in relation to the wider disciplinary matrix. We outline next steps of the research and the utility of the framework for researchers, reviewers and editors.
Recommended Citation
Hovorka, Dirk and Boell, Sebastian, "Cogency and Contribution in IS Research" (2015). ICIS 2015 Proceedings. 3.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2015/proceedings/IStheory/3
Cogency and Contribution in IS Research
Although it is accepted that to make a contribution, Information Systems (IS) research must be novel and provide utility, these characteristics are insufficient to account for the cogency or persuasion that research makes a contribution. Novelty and utility are not self-evident and authors need to articulate an argument that their paper makes a contribution in relation to the discourse to which it seeks to contribute. We use the Habermasian ideal of argumentation to explicate the rhetorical, dialectic, logical and socio-institutional dimensions of cogent argument. We use two examples of published research to illustrate how these elements can be extended to frame research as a contribution in relation to the wider disciplinary matrix. We outline next steps of the research and the utility of the framework for researchers, reviewers and editors.