Analytical methods for Information Systems Professionals

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• Analytical methods for Information Systems
  Professionals
• Week 13 Lecture 1
• CONCLUSION

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• Please fill in your surveys
• www.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/surveys.html
• THEY ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE END OF THIS WEEK
•  

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• Summary of mid-course survey
•  
• 45 returned questionnaires
•  
•          Nearly unanimous comment that
  assignments are too much work for only 5 of
  course marks
•          Most appreciate the message board and
  announcements
•          80 enjoy/find the tutorials
  interesting/helpful
• Majority like the guest lecturers (60)
•          Average overall score for How well is
  the course going for you 7.5.
•          The textbook was widely held to be
  clear and easy to understand
•          2 respondents would like a higher
  level of content

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•          Joys includedinteresting course, the
  variety of lecturers, learning about action
  research, critical thinking, learning useful
  skills, survey techniques
•          Frustrations included too many IS
  assignments overlapping, the variety of lecture
  formats,
•          Most valuable learnings included
  research skills, working in groups, refining
  searches, time management, improving reading
  skills, critical analysis, the learning in
  tutorials, communication, guest lecturers.
•          Suggestions included improving the
  web-site and the availability of lecture notes
  and tutorial worksheets,

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Whats the point?
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• TODAY
• What were the objectives of the course?
• What can you expect in the exam?
• Clarifying some significant issues
• Research approach
• Refining the question
• Questions?
• What to do in the next 3.5 weeks other than
  panicking.

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• What is the question?
• Who wants to know?
• What is your answer?
• How do you know if it is right?

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Use analytical methods to

• Formulate a question precisely
• Have dependable techniques to gather and analyse
  data to answer questions
• Collect and analyse feedback

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• Needs analysis
• Evaluation of technology
• Design
• Feasibility
• Measurement of performance and alignment
  (auditing)
• Changing

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• Information Systems (IS) professionals in today's
  organisations are leaders in change and
  development.
• Your success in this field will be aided by your
  being able to apply formal methods of information
  collection and analysis to interpreting evidence
  on IS issues.

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• By the end of this course you should be able to
• understand the purpose, relevance and
  effectiveness of using analytical methods in IS,
  
• identify and articulate the research problem and
  its context,
• find, understand, analyse and evaluate literature
  related to the research question,
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• write a research proposal,
• collect data using both qualitative and
  quantitative investigative methods,
• analyse and interpret that evidence,
• present and communicate your results verbally and
  in writing.

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• Lectures

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(No Transcript)
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• The exam is worth 50 of your final mark and you
  must pass the exam to pass the course.

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• WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT IN THE EXAM?
• (that I can reasonably tell you about)

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• SECTION A
• 30 marks
• Scenario
• Followed by 4 questions with sub-questions which
  allow you to apply your understanding of the how
  you would select, justify and apply (in detail)
  specific qualitative analytical methods to the
  problem.
• The questions will always indicate the number of
  points you need to make to obtain the marks
  specified.

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• SECTION B
• 30 marks
• Scenario
• Followed by 10 questions which allow you to apply
  your understanding of the research process to
  solving the problem. The emphasis in this
  scenario is more on quantitative methods.

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• WHAT WILL NOT BE IN THE EXAM
• You will not be examined on finding or reading
  the literature. That has already been assessed
  through your assignments
• You will not be examined on the content of the
  guest lectures who presented case studies,
  Gartner and David Nathan.

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• CLARIFYING ISSUES NO1
• Research Approaches

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The Research Process
Theories
Generalisations
Hypotheses
Observations
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• Four elements of
• research
• Epistemology
• Theoretical perspective
• Methodology
• Methods

Objectivist meaning and reality exist apart
from anybody being conscious of them
Constructivist meaning derives from our
interaction with the world Subjectivist meaning
is imposed on an object by the subject
What do we recognise as knowledge How do we know
what we know? What is true

• Positivist
• Interpretive
• Critical

The philosphical stance that underlies our chosen
methodology our assumptions
Plan of action, research design and why

• Techniques
• Surveys
• Interviews
• observation

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• Four Elements of the Research Process
• What methods do we propose to use?
• What methodology governs our choice and use of
  methods?
• What theoretical perspective lies behind the
  methodology in question?
• What epistemology informs this theoretical
  perspective?

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• Methods
• Research methods are the techniques or procedures
  we plan to use in our research
• Research methods are used to gather and analyse
  data
• When talking about research methods we talk at a
  very detailed level
• The choice of methods is central to the progress
  and success of our research project and depend
  on
• Purpose of the research
• Location of the research
• Position of the researcher
• Cost (, time etc.)

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• Methodology
• The research methodology describes our strategy
  or plan of action
• This is the research design shaping our choice
  of methods and linking that choice to the
  research outcomes
• Gives a rationale for our choice of methods and
  the way we employ those methods

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• Theoretical Perspective
• The assumptions we bring to our chosen
  methodology. The philosophical stance that we are
  taking in our research
• By articulating our theoretical perspective we
  present our view of the human world and ground
  our assumptions i.e. our way of looking at the
  world and making sense of it. Examples
• Positivist
• Critical
• Interpretivist

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• Our theoretical perspective (way of looking at
  the world) involves knowledge and embodies a
  particular understanding of how we know what we
  know.
• Epistemology is concerned with providing a
  philosophical grounding for deciding what kinds
  of knowledge are possible and how we can ensure
  that they are both adequate and legitimate
  (Maynard 1994, p10)
• e.g.
• Objectivism
• Constructionism (the epistemological stance of
  many qualitative researchers)

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• The four elements inform one another
• Epistemology
• Theoretical perspective
• Methodology
• Methods

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• CLARIFYING ISSUES NO2
• Refining the question
• Student requirements?
• Computer resources?
• Access?

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• What to do in the next 3.5 weeks instead of
  panicking
• Print out the course schedule and stick it on
  your wall. It is the roadmap for what you need to
  understand.
• Revise using the lecture notes, the textbook and
  the lecture handouts including the McCrotty
  article, the list of types of research and the
  table of research approaches. Revising the other
  articles will also extend your repetoire.
• Use the message board to discuss issues with
  each other and to ask me questions. I will
  monitor it all through the study period right up
  until the exam.
• Study with a friend or a group.

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• GOOD LUCK