Journal of Information Technology

Special Issue - Call for Papers

on

Interpretive Research in Information Systems

With increasing interest in qualitative or "intensive" research within the information systems community, this special issue is devoted specifically to interpretive research. Interpretive research can be distinguished from other kinds of research by the underlying philosophical assumptions which guide the work.

Interpretive studies generally attempt to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them and interpretive methods of research in IS are "aimed at producing an understanding of the context of the information system, and the process whereby the information system influences and is influenced by the context" (Walsham 1993, p. 4-5). Interpretive research does not predefine dependent and independent variables, but focuses on the full complexity of human sense making as the situation emerges (Kaplan and Maxwell, 1994).

The aim of the special issue is to publish a set of articles which exemplify the interpretive perspective. Conceptual, methodological, and empirical studies on any substantive area in information systems will be considered. We are especially interested in manuscripts which examine the relationships between people, organizations and information technology.

 

Authors can submit empirical papers which use any research method. Case studies, ethnographies, action research and grounded theory are all acceptable, provided that the underlying perspective is interpretive. Conceptual papers are also welcome. Further information about what we mean by these terms is available in the ISWorld Section on Qualitative Research in Information Systems.

Authors are welcome to contact one or both of the editors of the special issue for further advice.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

Papers should be between 5000-8000 words in length and follow the style and referencing system of the Journal of Information Technology. See a recent issue of the journal, especially the inside back page, for details. Send five double-spaced copies to:

Deadlines

The following is an aggressive timetable but with the cooperation of our referees we hope to meet it.

Submission of paper - February 10^th, 1998
Editors' decision - April 30^th, 1998
Final version due - June 30^th, 1998
Publication - December 1998

Journal Of Information Technology

Journal policy

The journal provides critical perspectives on advanced information and communication technologies, with an emphasis on their organizational and social implications and management. Through its publications the journal seeks to make a significant contribution to the development of theory and practice.

The journal, therefore, accepts academically robust papers that make a distinctive contribution to the study of aspects of the relationships between information systems and technologies, organizations, management and society. Every paper is blind refereed, by a member of the editorial team and three external referees authoritative in the field under review. However, the editor-in-chief reserves the right to reject papers that, in the view of the editorial team, are of insufficient quality to merit refereeing. The editor-in-chief is always happy to discuss contributions before submission.

Further information concerning the categories of papers published by the journal is given on the inside front cover of the journal. The journal is published by Chapman & Hall, London.

This page was last updated on March 08, 2002 by Michael D. Myers who can be contacted at m.myers@auckland.ac.nz