Reflection on RES 701 – Research

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“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein.

 

I have found RES 701 an inspiring course and we have covered topics I personally found illuminating and in ways exciting, as I could now see pathways within Information Technology that I didn’t previously have the road map for and didn’t realise existed.

I particularly enjoyed the more philosophical aspects, as this is an area, I believe is important in all aspects of life – especially in IT education. I believe this area is expanding so exponentially we need, as researchers and practitioners, to reflect about what we are doing, what we are creating and why.

I took the three sciences at school and later completed some psychology papers where I was introduced to experimentation with humans and animals using the classical science paradigm as well as the behavioural science paradigms. One paper I took was called ‘Critiquing Scientific Research”. This paper had a profound affect on my thinking and tied into what I had been feeling as I undertook studies in the different branches of psychology. I came to feel that all these different models in the different branches of psychology didn’t really co-exist in any way. It was like looking at behaviour through a different lens and deciding what caused what. Yet for me it was just too complex to encapsulate in a model based on experiments – some of which were very dodgy. I have had many discussions with my partner, a science graduate, about what facts are. For me what I believe is that there are not really any facts and only theories to explain phenomena we observe. This can be confronting to anyone who has centred their belief set on science as the only real facts in our world. Another aspect the paper brought to light was how many researchers become so involved in what they are trying to answer – their hypothesis – that they miss valuable information and phenomena because that isn’t what was supposed to happen. The paper stated this as “not seeing the woods for the trees” phenomena that can occur in research if researchers choose to wear blinkers.

Because of this previous experience I found looking at Truth, Facts, Knowledge and Knowing as particularly appealing and useful. I am drawn to holistic views in any area and seeing the big picture and trying to understand what I’m really seeing and how all the little components relate and combine together into the whole. I’m drawn to creating something that is useful and that for me means useful for the user and not something I’ve just come up with. I like looking at problems and finding ways to solve them. This is why I really enjoyed learning about Design Science, which was a completely new paradigm for me, as it ties in so well with what I have felt was lacking when trying to work with other paradigms previously.

I believe creativity is underrated in some fields and can be the missing magic ingredient in a research project and/or sometimes within a discipline. I became more excited about Information Technology research when I understood how many disciplines could find ways to work together to provide actual artefacts and bodies of knowledge that can improve the human condition in ways that could provide a better future globally for the coming generations.

Overall, I found this course incredibly interesting and what I have learnt has helped me consolidate my research skills and ideas around research. This will be extremely valuable when I come to put forward my Research project. So, Lars I found your teaching illuminating and course valuable as it has extended my thinking and skills by consolidating my previous knowledge with new and exciting new ideas. I like that we are extended to think about topics that are crucial when undertaking research in any field as I believe it is really important. Thank you!

Protecting Intellectual Property

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“Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.” (World Intellectual Property Organization. n.d.).

Types of intellectual property include copyright, trademarks, patents, industrial designs and geographical indications. This type of property is legally “owned” by the creator/and protects their ownership in such a way that others cannot use it without specific permissions from the owner.

Copyright is legally a way to assert the rights of the person who has created a creative work. This can include books, music, poetry, essays, artworks, technical drawings, photographs, graphics, logos, vector images movies, online games, computer applications, ads and even maps. Copyright is automatically assigned to a creation from the moment it exists in its completed state. No one can use the work unless they have been given written permission which outlines the rights and specific context the work can be used from the owner. The copyright symbol is often applied to work online and demonstrates that this is owned by someone and is protected by copyright law. But the sign is not always used, which doesn’t mean it is not protected by copyright, so never assume you can use it unless there is something that indicates it is free to use.

Copyleft is another type of copyright licence that allows others to use the original work under a set- criteria determined by the original owner. Other users can use the work and/or create an alternative version of the original but have to attribute the same copyleft licence to that work so there is essentially a chain pointing back to the original and its creator. Software has been given this type of license and it is seen as a way for further development to occur in a way that is of benefit to the wider population.

Creative Commons Licenses is a type of copyleft built on the base of copyright. You can choose different types of licenses that allow different permissions for others to build on your original work. It is a way of building bodies of work in a way akin to Design Science. This means the original creator is acknowledged but is allowing their work to be expanded and used to enhance the overall area of knowledge. You can choose how your work can be used, commercially or only non-commercially or if it can be changed in any way or if you would like it to only be used under terms you have set.

I like the idea of allowing my work to be built upon as that is in line with Design Science. So for my project I would choose a Creative Commons License that allows derivatives under set terms for non-commercial use.

 

Ethical Behaviour

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When designing a research project one aspect that is crucial, especially if you will be including participants in a study, is that the ethics of the research has been considered and stated within the proposal and report. There are certain guidelines set out as academic standards for research that confines what can be done, what shouldn’t be done and sometimes the considerations that need to be understood which can be a judgement call at the time of the study.

The basic tenants are that no harm should be done , called “non-malfeasance”, that the study will bring something of benefit or good, called “beneficence. This means that informed consent should be obtained from any participants, that any risk should be minimised, that confidentiality and anonymity are assured for any information gained from participants, no deceptive practices should be used everything should be transparent and the participants have the right to withdraw from the study at any time. There is further consideration given for any vulnerable groups such as children and at times consent does not need to be sought if general observance of public behaviour is observed, although there are still certain responsibilities and requirements for this type of study.

 

“You find some good images on the web that would look good on your site.  You copy and paste them to your blog.”

There is an increasing issue with  many users creating blogs and small websites when they choose an image on the internet, they like, without checking “is this okay to use?’ Does someone else own this? For it is legally seen as stealing if you use an image protected by copyright without permission. You may need to pay for the use of such images or seek permission from the creator. You need to look for images that are allowed to be used in your own work without permission under copyleft,  creative commons licenses or  if stated as free to use. There is quite a lot out there if you look.

 

“You are in a hurry to finish an assignment and you find the perfect explanation of a difficult concept on wikipedia. You decide to copy it into your work.”

 

This would be plagiarism if you put it into your own writing and tried to pass it off as your work, which is dishonest and not ethical. By trying to use another writers ideas, thoughts or writing and pretending it is yours is basically fraud and unethical in all aspects. It is a serious breach of ethics and ensures that “your” work is invalid. By ensuring that any work from another source included in your writing is referenced appropriately by acknowledging the true source, allows for a chain of validation and the expansion of ideas to occur in a way that is reputable and to academic standards.

 

“You are a medical researcher and you think you have discovered a new drug that cures lung cancer.  It worked well on mice although a few of them died of heart problems. You want to test it on people.  You recruit 100 lung cancer patients into your treatment programme. You don’t tell them about the new drug.  You treat 50 patients with usual drugs and 50 with the new drug to see which is better.”

 

This is like playing with people’s lives against their will and without their knowledge. There is a high component of deception which is not considered ethical in research. Any participants in a study must be given the opportunity to make an informed consent. This means the participants have been told exactly what is involved, what the risks are and need to give consent in such a way that demonstrates they are fully informed. Even so, to run a study that could cause harm is extremely unethical and should never occur.

 

“You are doing your PhD about drug abuse among students.  You interview 30 students about their drug use. You discover that one of the students is actually a fairly big time dealer and you report him to the police.”

 

When participants are involved in a study, they should be informed in the beginning that any information they share will be confidential. Participants therefore have the right to confidentiality and the security of any information held  that is gained from their participation. The information might not have been available to the researcher if the participant didn’t believe what they share is confidential. Privacy and confidentiality cannot be breached, even in this situation. It is a difficult situation if the participant is causing unlawful harm to others then that should be the ethical responsibility of the researcher to report it. It also jeopardises other participants, as drug taking is unlawful in itself, so where do you draw the line? You know before the study begins that the information gathered will include learning about unlawful acts. This then becomes a dilemma of whether you should carry out a study with individuals in person or if it would be better using a survey for a study so anonymity is assured.

 

“You are a researcher looking at the effect of violent computer games on children.  You recruit 20 children into your study. Over a month you regularly show them images of violence to see if it has an adverse effect on their behaviour.  One of the children becomes quite distressed each time and so you stop showing her images and drop her from the study.”

 

Again , any study that could cause any form of harm to participants is unethical. Participants must also have the right to pull out of the study at any time if they choose to do so. Vulnerable groups such as children require more strict guidelines as to what is ethical in a study and must never be exposed to anything that might be harmful in any way.

 

“You want to research how easy it is to hack into your organisation’s computer system by persuading people to divulge login and password details.  You recruit a small team to ring up key people in the organisation and persuade them to give either their own or their boss’s details.”

 

It is unethical to get participants to engage in any behaviour that is unlawful or could cause harm to others.

 

“You are doing an initial research in area of a town where may bars and pubs are located, to estimate the level of problematic social behaviour in the area. Your research is independent from the police, because you want to observe their behaviour as well. You observe both abusive and violent behaviour.”

 

Observing behaviour in a public space without permission from participants can be considered if general group behaviour is being studied. On the other hand, if behaviour is being observed in a bar the owner of the premises needs to be advised and their permission granted. There is still an ethical responsibility if you observe an unlawful act where someone is harmed or could be harmed to contact the appropriate agency, such as the police. If the police are being observed, you would need to gain permission from that agency to do so as they are in their workplace and not part of what is considered the public at that time.

 

References:

Laerd Dissertation, (n.d.). Retrieved from http://dissertation.laerd.com/principles-of-research-ethics.php on June 6, 2019.

World Intellectual Property Organization. (n.d.). Retrieved  from http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/. on June 6, 2019

 

 

 

Peer Review

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Erica has chosen a project proposal that uses artificial intelligence to create a better user experience for users in a website. Erica has been applying AI to web in her studies and has found that this is an area she is really interested in. Erica has the skills to take this idea and make it into a really good project.

I believe this is a great idea for a project. User experience is a very large field and a project that is using AI to make a better experience for users in a website is very relevant. I have used Chatbots that have computer generated responses which don’t answer my question and give a stock response. Usually it isn’t answering my question, which can be a very frustrating experience and not a good user experience. Maybe AI needs to emulate a human response for users to feel listened to and answered appropriately. I think it could be quite complicated considering what users might ask. If Erica could design responses from a Chatbot that ensures the user feels listened to and an appropriate response is given, even if it is a message sent to a human if the AI can’t answer it, I would find it a better user experience. I think this project would give Erica scope to explore research and find a way to design an AI Chatbot or maybe something different? that would fill the user experience needs in this area. Great project idea! Maybe Erica could define a bit more what she wants to design after research and what she believes is a user experience need in this area. I believe Erica has the skills to make this project proposal something that will add to research into user experience in this field.

My Project Proposal Ideas

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 Broad Research/Project Interest Area

 

A Short description of an area of IT that interests me.

 

An area that interests me in IT is research into ways of designing IT solutions to help solve issues around sustainability awareness for individuals and organisations as well as environmental information management. A number of articles I have found point out how much more in the way of research needs to be done in this field as well as pointing out that when projects are designed a component or requirement should be one of sustainability.

 

The field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is widely proposed as one that can help to find ways that will change consumer and organisation behaviour towards sustainable practices and awareness of consumption. A combination of Design Science and Behavioural Science is seen as the way forward to solving problems of consumer behaviour around consumption of resources as well as implementing sustainable practices in organisations. It has been proposed that manufacturing of products and production of food and other resource use can be made more sustainability by connecting consumer feedback from their use of environmental monitoring applications to what is being produced and how.

 

Why it is Interesting to me

 

Because I am passionate about sustainability and the environment and want to use the skills in IT, I gain from my education, to find better ways to keep sustainability in users minds. I believe by showing consumers how their individual practices of day-to-day consumption and behaviour affect the global environment it could be a way to help individuals make better sustainable choices in their day to day lives. I also believe this could have an effect on manufacturing and production practices for the betterment of global sustainability. Data can be transformed into meaningful information that can bring to light how we as individuals affect the environment and hopefully encourage consumers to make better decisions that will affect larger entities.

 

Three things I know about it

 

1. I have read that more research is needed in how to implement IT in such a way that the state of the environment can be improved.
2. That environmental data is massive and the best way of managing it is using IT and ICT solutions.
3. Environmental monitoring is not shared globally.

 

Three things I Believe about it

 

1. I believe IT can provide solutions if more research is carried out.
2. New developments can be viewed as possible technologies to improve data management, security and sharing of environmental information.
3. IT is a way of bringing overwhelming amounts of information within manageable parameters.

 

Three things you don’t know about it

 

1. How much impact IT has had on environmental sustainability?
2. What systems and applications have been implemented that have made a difference to sustainability outcomes.
3. If IT can provide a better picture of the global environmental future.

 

Would I rather: Do something, Research it or Do both

 

I would rather research and then build something based on that research.

 

Resources I think will be helpful on this topic:

APA References and Links

 

Ballew, M., Omoto, A., & Winter, P. (2015). Using Web 2.0 and social media technologies to foster proenvironmental action. Sustainability, 7(8), 10620-10648. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/8/10620

Bengtsson, F., & Ågerfalk, P. J. (2011). Information technology as a change actant in sustainability innovation: Insights from Uppsala. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 20(1), 96-112. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paer_Agerfalk/publication/220578627_Information_technology_as_a_change_actant_in_sustainability_innovation_Insights_from_Uppsala/links/59f99047a6fdcc075ec9b99b/Information-technology-as-a-change-actant-in-sustainability-innovation-Insights-from-Uppsala.pdf

Chen, A. J., Boudreau, M. C., & Watson, R. T. (2008). Information systems and ecological sustainability. Journal of Systems and Information Technology, 10(3), 186-201. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Watson5/publication/235270232_Information_systems_and_ecological_sustainability_Journal_of_Systems_and_Information_Systems_103_186-201/links/0046351db2c88dee11000000.pdf

Čuček, L., Klemeš, J. J., & Kravanja, Z. (2012). A review of footprint analysis tools for monitoring impacts on sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 34, 9-20. https://search-proquest-com.nmit.idm.oclc.org/docview/1769720189/B356B3B8B5354A63PQ/1?accountid=40261

Dao, V., Langella, I., & Carbo, J. (2011). From green to sustainability: Information Technology and an integrated sustainability framework. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 20(1), 63-79.   https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/40582960/From_green_to_sustainability_Information20151202-4945-10cyakz.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1556079263&Signature=9QxiApZojypunuWCgzj75TRhgRA%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DFrom_green_to_sustainability_Information.pdf

Foster, D., Lawson, S., Blythe, M., & Cairns, P. (2010, October). Wattsup?: motivating reductions in domestic energy consumption using social networks. In Proceedings of the 6th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Extending Boundaries (pp. 178-187). ACM. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/3155/1/Wattsup-NordiCHI_080710.pdf

Froehlich, J., Findlater, L., & Landay, J. (2010, April). The design of eco-feedback technology. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems(pp. 1999-2008). ACM. http://www.vs.inf.ethz.ch/edu/HS2011/CPS/papers/froehlich10_eco-feedback.pdf

Higón, D. A., Gholami, R., & Shirazi, F. (2017). ICT and environmental sustainability: A global perspective. Telematics and Informatics, 34(4), 85-95. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Farid_Shirazi/publication/312120096_ICT_and_Environmental_Sustainability_A_Global_Perspective/links/5a8c4889aca27292c0f80f96/ICT-and-Environmental-Sustainability-A-Global-Perspective.pdf

Hilty, L. M., & Aebischer, B. (2015). Ict for sustainability: An emerging research field. In ICT Innovations for Sustainability(pp. 3-36). Springer, Cham. https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/37420920/2014_Hilty_Aebischer_ICT_for_Sustainability_AAM.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1556143447&Signature=314oN0eJPRVT%2B57cbY8UMlFZ8Tk%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_Role_of_ICT_in_Energy_Consumption_an.pdf

Hilty, L. M., & Aebischer, B. (Eds.). (2015). ICT innovations for sustainability (Vol. 310). Springer. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274075759_ICT_Innovations_for_Sustainability

Hilty, L., Lohmann, W., & Huang, E. (2011). Sustainability and ICT—an overview of the field. Politeia, 27(104), 13-28. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lorenz_Hilty/publication/228096229_Sustainability_and_ICT_-_An_overview_of_the_field/links/0fcfd4ff27d1ed4d58000000/Sustainability-and-ICT-An-overview-of-the-field.pdf

Malhotra, A., Melville, N. P., & Watson, R. T. (2013). Spurring impactful research on information systems for environmental sustainability. MIS quarterly, 37(4), 1265-1274. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arvind_Malhotra/publication/281395968_Spurring_Impactful_Research_on_Information_Systems_and_Environmental_Sustainability/links/59bbe31b458515e9cfc79ce2/Spurring-Impactful-Research-on-Information-Systems-and-Environmental-Sustainability.pdf

Melville, N. P. (2010). Information systems innovation for environmental sustainability. MIS quarterly, 34(1), 1-21. https://misq.org/downloadable/download/linkSample/link_id/838/In

Microsoft Reporter. (2017). How Technology can help Reduce our Impact on the Planet. Retrieved 24 April 2019 from https://news.microsoft.com/europe/2017/06/05/how-technology-can-help-reduce-our-impact-on-the-planet/

New, R., & Faber, N. (2016). How psychology can help us solve climate change. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/how-psychology-can-help-us-solve-climate-change-58957 May 10, 2019.

Poore, J. (2018). We label fridges to show their environmental impact – why not food? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/we-label-fridges-to-show-their-environmental-impact-why-not-food May 10, 2019.

Rivera, A. C., & Kurnia, S. (2016). Exploring the roles of ICT in supporting sustainability practices. arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.00889. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1606/1606.00889.pdf

Smith, R. C., & Iversen, O. S. (2018). Participatory design for sustainable social change. Design Studies, 59, 9-36.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.destud.2018.05.005 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ole_Iversen/publication/326255733_Participatory_design_for_sustainable_social_change/links/5bd47c18299bf1124fa70efc/Participatory-design-for-sustainable-social-change.pdf

UN Environment. (n.d.) retrieved from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/new-hotspots-tool-pinpoints-unsustainable-consumption-and-production May 10, 2019.

Vickery, G. (2012). Smarter and Greener? Information Technology and the Environment: Positive or negative impacts?. Changing Our Understanding of Sustainability: The Impact of ICTs and the Internet. Winnipeg: IISD, 1-7. https://www.iisd.org/pdf/2012/com_icts_vickery.pdf

 

 

 

Identifying a possible project

 

10 Questions about my Topic

 

1. What factors determine the environmental behaviour of individuals?
2. Would interactive online communication affect individual choices?
3. What applications have been developed to promote positive environmental action?
4. When have online applications affected the behaviour of individuals?
5. Which demographic  is more likely to use an application that provides an online forum for information and discussion on environmental concerns?
6. What factors would affect different demographics use of such an application?
7. Would individuals using an environmental application affect manufacturing processes to improve sustainability?
8. Which type of Web 2.0 and social media platform would be most effective in promoting more sustainable behaviour and awareness?
9. Would an environmental organisations become involved in such an application as a collective forum?
10. What else could the feedback from individual’s participation in an online forum be used for to improve sustainability?

 

 

Three good questions/ideas I Identified

 

1. Would using a Web.20 platform in this case a blog increase communication in ways that will impact the environmental behaviour of users?
2. Would incorporating a social media strategy in conjunction with the blog further increase participation and changes in behaviour?
3. Would communication through social media platforms around environmental responsibility have a flow on effect to the manufacturing and production sectors?

 

Suggestions what I could do to answer/explore these questions

 

 

• Literature review of existing research on Web 2.0 and social media’s effect on behaviour to determine what has been discovered so far and what recommendations have been made for future research
• Create an environmental blog in conjunction with social media links and strategy.
• Use analytical tools to analyse growth of communication and feedback from users.
• Connect and link to environmental organisations on the blog and social media platforms
• Include questionnaires within the blog to actively seek participation
• Approach producers and manufacturers to see if they would link their businesses to a blog on environmentalism as a way to promote and market their environmentally friendly products and services.

 

 

The fundamental goal underlying each question

 

The fundamental goal underlying each question is to research the question/problem by using a combination of research paradigms and research methodologies chosen to fit the problem so as to reach a conclusion.

 

 

 

2. Making a choice

 

1. Question: “Would developing an environmental blog, incorporating social media platforms, increase communication in ways that will impact the environmental behaviour of users?

 

 

List of Activities:

 

• Literature review of existing research on Web 2.0 and social media platforms’ effect on behaviour to determine what has been discovered so far and what recommendations have been made for future research
• Designing and building a blog linked to a social media strategy and other environmental organisations and then testing the prototype live and inviting feedback and using analytical tools to assess the effect.

 

 

 

TITLE: “Can a blog be an effective way of changing the environmental behaviour of users by encouraging participation through social media platforms?”

 

4. Ethical Issues

 

• I will aim to ensure my research meets the aims of good research in quality and integrity
• I will demonstrate that my research has been carried out in an impartial manner and that I have no vested interest in the results that is connected to any outside party
• Participants are informed about what they will be doing and give their consent
• Participants will only participate if they do so voluntarily
• I will do nothing to cause any harm or risk to participants
• Privacy of participants details will be kept with anonymity and data will be protected to ensure confidentiality
• I understand participation may cause distress for economic reasons and/ or personal belief systems and will seek to alleviate any such distress by ensuring the research is done in such a way that individuals can feel safe that their own personal circumstances will in no way be judged or shared eleswhere.

 

 

Useful Blog & What interests me about IT and What Doesn’t!

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 Zhou

https://bingdada.wordpress.com/category/res701/

I found this blog is really useful as it is well presented, the ideas are clear and well written and the description of terms is written in such a way that helps me think about and understand those terms better and in new ways. I like how this blog gets me thinking and that it is easy to read and follow the ideas because they are set out  in a well defined and logical way.

The use of language was helpful as it wasn’t too technical and I could grasp immediately what the research article was comprised of without having to go elsewhere to find out more. I like the flow of ideas  and that it isn’t too wordy nor too much technical jargon, so is a straight forward and understandable read. I have learnt from this blog how to encapsulate ideas in a way that others can read and easily understand – even if it isn’t their field.

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What Interests me about IT and What Doesn’t!

 

The IT area/subject I have most enjoyed is Software Development, as I like to build things like an application, and then see what I have created, do what I designed it to do.

The IT area/subject I least enjoyed is Computer System Architecture – I actually liked it, but it isn’t an area I would want to specialise in.

The IT area/subject I was most interested in is the design and development of systems and applications to meet the needs of users.

The one IT thing I never want to have to do again is nothing – I have learnt so much from every paper and they combine to give me a far better whole view in my areas of interest.

I chose to study IT because I believed there is a future in IT that is limitless – it will keep evolving and I had previously completed Multimedia and wanted to know how to make systems and not just design graphics.

If I couldn’t study IT, I would study environmental science.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist.

One IT thing I would like to know more about is how to increase the security of systems.

 

Reading Academic Papers

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The academic article I chose to read was written by Georgios N. Kouziokas, and titled “Technology-based management of environmental organizations using an Environmental Management Information System (EMIS): Design and development”. The title encapsulates what the research paper will contain. It tells me that the paper will be about the design and development of an information technology system called “Environmental Management Information System (EMIS)” to be used as a system for dealing with the data that is being analysed by environmental organisations. (Kouziokas,  2016).

Within the abstract the author outlines that the topic of research paper is regarding a prototype that has been developed to deal with the rapidly increasing amount of information that environmental organisations are dealing with by using Information and Communication Technology.  The prototype is utilised as a system of managing environmental data as well as the human resources within environmental organisations.

The design and development of the prototype is discussed in the paper; including the technologies used, and how they combine to achieve the organisational goals of the organisations.

The abstract summarises what has been created and how it can be implemented to allow technology to enhance decision-making processes and the management of environmental organisations.

The research question seems to be “How can Information and Communication Technologies assist in providing a system that will handle large amounts of data in such a way that better decision-making and management can be implemented in environmental organisations?”

The methods used to answer this research question are those of the Design Science paradigm. Initially requirements analysis was carried out to discover the types of data that need to be included within the database and how that data will be drawn out as meaningful information. It also identifies the legal requirements in legislation for how information is held and shared in the ECU. Human resource requirements are also identified. Then existing knowledge is brought into the design by using technology that has been used in actual systems from previous Design Science research to solve the research question. (Kouziokas, 2016).

The technologies that will be used to build the system are then identified. These include the whole architecture of the complete system, how the system will be structured including programming languages, the database management system, programming tools and any other technologies that will need to be used to implement the system such as web-based information systems. (Kouziokas, 2016; Sugumaran, Meyer & Davis, 2004).

Then the design of the EMIS system is discussed and how it will be implemented. The following diagram summarises the modules included in the system and each module’s function and how it contributes to the overall goal.

 

Source: (Kouziokas,  2016).

I believe the article is credible for the following reasons: It was published in an academic journal “Environmental Technology and Innovation” published by Elsevier. Elsevier is well known and has numerous publications on Google Scholar and within databases such as “Science Direct”. It was published in 2016 which is fairly recent and should still be valid. There are a large number of well cited references from reputable sources drawn on within the article which indicates significant research into the subject under discussion has been carried out. The author is a Ph.D researcher from the School of Engineering at the University of Thessaly with four Masters of Science and has received a number of awards for his research as follows in his profile on Research Gate:

“Ph.D. Researcher. University Teaching Assistant. Awarded with the Emerging Scholar Award 2018 by the University of Illinois USA.Awarded as a Top Peer Reviewer in 2018 in Publons’ global Peer Review Awards (Web of Science).Reviewer in 38 Journals. G.Editor in an international journal about Artificial Intelligence (Indexed in Scopus,Web of Science) & Associate Editor in 5 Journals.Editorial Board member.4 MSc: Applied Mathematics, Information Systems, Spatial Analysis (GIS) & Environmental Management, Contemporary Learning Environments & Curriculum Development.Artificial Intelligence, Educational Informatics, Intelligent Tutoring,Information Systems,Neural Networks, Robotics, Quantum Networks,Cyber Security, Public Management, Environmental Informatics, GIS,Remote Sensing,C++,C#,Java,R,Python.” Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Georgios_Kouziokas on 11 April, 2019.

 

I found that I agree with the conclusion that the large growth of information within environmental organisations can be managed by a system built using information technologies and communication technologies to create a system that can allow for better management and decision-making. Utilising information and communication technology can address organising large data collections, containing diverse  types , which need to be managed and used for decision-making. The other issue is sharing information with governmental organisations and policy makers. I believe it is essential for the future that a way of combining collections of information and sharing can uncover the true state of the environment and needs to be ultimately a global system across different countries to ascertain the patterns and anomalies that exist when looking at the wider scope. Information technology and communication technology are continually finding better and improved applications that can be combined to create an overall system that meets complicated organisational needs.

 

Two things that I learnt from this article include how putting together different information and communication technologies as separate modules that make up a system can be integrated in such a way that it works as a whole and that it is a high need for environmental organisations to improve their operations to meet their goals by using technology as the rapid growth of data needs a system that can handle it.

 

This paper looks at a problem – how to manage the rapid growth of data and information within environmental organisations so they can better manage their organisations and thus have improved decision-making capabilities. The analysis of requirements showed the complexity of environmental organisations and what their overall goals are. By looking at every entity within the system and all the data that is held and used is the starting point for an overall system to manage this complexity to be designed and developed. From data collection out in the field, analysis of data by scientists in the lab, training, education, budgets, human resources and the need to provide information for agencies and general management the prototype was designed to draw all this together in such a way that it becomes more manageable and stable. Looking to information and communication technology, different applications and tools were combined into a holistic system to manage the different needs of all the users in the organisation as well as outside stakeholders. Relational database technology was used as the storage component, programming languages were chosen to build an application for users to retrieve from and add data to the database. Web based technologies were added to allow for better communication across geographical distance and to speed up accessing resources from the system. Web based geographical and spatial technologies were added to provide the necessary “maps” so that visual aids could be accessed when making planning decisions. By modularising each technology and then linking them into a system called the “Environmental Management Information System (EMIS)” overall complexities of the organisation could be brought into one system allowing for faster and more accurate operations at all levels of the organisation.(Kouziokas,  2016). This would enable more stability and reliability of information gathering as well as meeting security requirements for holding data. Modernising the organisation by using information technology is a way for the organisations to be more effective in meeting their overall goals as well as planning for the future.

References:

Kouziokas, G. N. (2016). Technology-based management of environmental organizations using an Environmental Management Information System (EMIS): Design and development. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 5, 106-116.

Sugumaran, R., Meyer, J. C., & Davis, J. (2004). A web-based environmental decision support system (WEDSS) for environmental planning and watershed management. Journal of Geographical Systems, 6(3), 307-322. Kingston, R., Carver, S., Evans, A., & Turton, I. (2000). Web-based public participation geographical information systems: an aid to local environmental decision-making. Computers, environment and urban systems, 24(2), 109-125.

Research Gate (n.d.) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Georgios_Kouziokas
retrieved on 11 April 2019.

Academic Articles

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I searched for two academic papers using Google Scholar. Both articles follow the structure of academic papers including:

• the title
• the authors (usually with an email address and affiliation)
• the abstract
• the introduction
• a review of other papers relevant to the topic (a literature review)
• a description of what the research was and what the researchers did
• the results of what they did
• a discussion about what the results mean
• a conclusion
• a list of references

 

First Article

Title and Authors:

A Design Science Research Methodology for Information Systems Research

Ken Peffers1,2 University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Business Administration 4505 Maryland Parkway Las Vegas NV 89154-6034 USA Tel +1-702-895-2676, Fax +1-702-446-8370 k@peffers.com Tuure Tuunanen2 The University of Auckland Business School, The Dept. of ISOM Symonds Street 7, Private Bag 92019 Auckland, New Zealand Tel +64-9-373-7599 ext. 84622, Fax: +64-9-373-7430 tuure@tuunanen.fi Marcus A. Rothenberger University of Nevada, Las Vegas, College of Business Administration 4505 Maryland Parkway Las Vegas NV 89154-6034 USA Tel +1-702 895 2890, Fax +1-702-895-0802 marcus.rothenberger@unlv.edu Samir Chatterjee Claremont Graduate University School of Information Systems & Technology Claremont, CA 91711 Tel +1-909-607-4651 samir.chatterjee@cgu.edu

APA Reference:

Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., Rothenberger, M. A., & Chatterjee, S. (2007). A design science research methodology for information systems research. Journal of management information systems, 24(3), 45-77.

Source and Keywords:

Found using Google Scholar with the keywords: design science in information systems

Type of Article:

This article was published in an academic journal: “Journal of Management Information Systems”. This journal is published in the US and it is ranked fourth for its kind (Information Systems and Management) by “Scimago Institutions Rankings” https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=1802   which is an evaluation resource to assess worldwide universities and research-focused institutions. The indicators combined to give the ranking include research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact.

I believe this is an academic paper because it is published in a credible journal for Information Systems and has a high number of citations which means many other researchers have used this paper in their research. The format of the paper follows the set format and outline for an academic paper. The authors biography shows that they have expertise and qualifications in their fields.

References: 56

Citations: 4312

Url:

http://www.sirel.fi/ttt/Downloads/Design%20Science%20Research%20Methodology%202008.pdf

I am interested in reading this article because Design Science is a research paradigm, I am wanting to find out more about and feel it is an excellent fit for development in the IT industry. Because it has been cited so many times, I believe it will be a good starting point for my research into Design Science. The following excerpt from the introduction for the paper encapsulates why I believe it is an important paper as it is attempting to bring about a methodology for this emerging paradigm that could be more consistent across the discipline.

 

“The design science research methodology (DSRM) presented here incorporates principles, practices, and procedures required to carry out such research and meets three objectives: it is consistent with prior literature, it provides a nominal process model for doing DS research, and it provides a mental model for presenting and evaluating DS research in IS. The DS process includes six steps: problem identification and motivation, definition of the objectives for a solution, design and development, demonstration, evaluation, and communication. We demonstrate and evaluate the methodology by presenting four case studies in terms of the DSRM,…” Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., Rothenberger, M. A., & Chatterjee, S. (2007).

 

 

Second Article

 

Title and Authors:

Information Systems Innovation for Environmental Sustainability

Nigel P. Melville Stephen M. Ross School of Business University of Michigan 701 Tappan Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 U.S.A. npmelv@umich.edu

 

APA Reference:

Melville, N. P. (2010). Information systems innovation for environmental sustainability. MIS quarterly, 34(1), 1-21.

Source and Keywords:

Found using Google Scholar with the keywords “information technology sustainability innovation”.

Citations:

975

References:

146

URL:

https://misq.org/downloadable/download/linkSample/link_id/838/In

Type of Article:

This article was published in an academic journal: “MIS Quarterly: Management Information Systems”. This journal is published in the US and it is ranked first for its kind (Information Systems and Management) by “Scimago Institutions Rankings” https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=1802 which is an evaluation resource to assess worldwide universities and research-focused institutions. The indicators combined to give the ranking include research performance, innovation outputs and societal impact.

I believe this is an academic paper because it is published in a credible journal for Information Systems although it has a relatively few citations, they are still sufficiently high to give the paper credibility and the number of references is extremely high which indicates a literature review that has encompassed the topic widely. The format of the paper follows the set format and outline for an academic paper. The authors biography shows that he has expertise and qualifications in this field.

 

I am interested in reading this paper because as is expressed in the paper there is a lack of research in the Information Systems field around sustainability. I am very keen to pursue a research project around Information Technology being used in a way to increase awareness of environmental issues and to monitor individual’s practices in their day-to-day living towards or not towards sustainability. The following excerpt from the introduction to this paper has also increased my interest with the mention of Design Science as well as behavioural science which is a fit in paradigms for my project.

 

“We thus define IS for environmental sustainability as IS-enabled organizational practices and processes that improve environmental and economic performance. We launch a new discourse on IS innovation for environmental sustainability by drawing upon the uniqueness of IS scholarship, which incorporates both behavioral science (search for truth) and design science (search for utility in designed artifacts) (Hevner et al. 2004).” Melville, N. P. (2010).

Meta-Analysis

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What is it ?

Meta-analysis is a research method. Research methods are the tools that are used to carry out research by gathering information and analysing it. Research methodology is usually – quantitative or qualitative or a mix of both; called mixed methods.

Quantitative methods collect numerical data which is then analysed using other tools such as statistical analysis. Variables are measured in this way to find the relationships between them which are then usually displayed in the form of tables and graphs.

Qualitative methods gather non-numerical data which is analysed to uncover any patterns that may be present.

Mixed methods use both quantitative and qualitative methods to find answers for unexpected results.

 

Table Summarising the Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

 

Characteristic	Qualitative Research	Quantitative Research
Type of Data	Phenomena described numerically	Phenomena described in a narrative fashion
Analysis	Descriptive and inferential statistics	Identification of major schemes
Scope of Inquiry	Specific questions or hypotheses	Broad, thematic concerns
Primary Advantage	Large sample, statistical validity, accurately reflects the population	Rich, in-depth, narrative description of the sample
Primary Disadvantage	Superficial understanding of participants thoughts and feelings	Small sample, not generalizable to the population at large

Source: https://research-methodology.net/research-methods/ retrieved 25 March 2019.

Meta-analysis refers to a process of integration of the results of many studies to arrive at evidence synthesis (Normand, 1999). In meta-analysis statistics are used to uncover patterns that are common across a number of studies or differences and anomalies that occur in some studies and why that variation has occurred. This is done by combining the data that has been collected from a lot of studies that are investigating the same area of research and applying  statistical tools to those combined results.

Meta-analysis pools the results from many studies to effectively create a larger sample size which has more validity in statistical terms therefore it is a form of quantitative research, even though individual studies may have used qualitative or mixed methods. It can be used to explain what differences might have occurred in individual studies and what inherent patterns might underlie the studies.

Meta-analysis  is empirically based so falls within the Classical Science paradigm with the ontology that what is observed does exist and the epistemology of Positivism in that what data is collected is done objectively. The underlying principle of Meta-analysis is that there is a common truth behind similar studies that can be revealed using this method.

While meta-analysis provides an estimate of what the unknown common truth is, it can also uncover other relationships such as the contrast of results between different studies and show up any patterns that may occur within results as well as what might be causing any differences between studies.

It is a shift from individual research to that of creating collective research with the aim that the effect of size will increase the validity of the results using statistical techniques rather than relying on statistical significance in individual trials of smaller populations.

 

What kinds of questions/problems might it be useful for?

The types of questions or problems that meta-analysis can be useful for are when an effect is being explored across different samples to see if it continues across studies or if there are anomalies. It can also uncover new patterns to be explored with new hypotheses furthering research in a field. It widens the scope of the research and also helps identify new problems.

 

How could it be used in IT research ?

Meta-analysis could be used in IT research to look at questions that are trying to determine quite generalised effects across a large population. An example could be around determining gender bias in the gaming industry. By comparing what games are produced and whether there is a real difference in what games are preferred by different genders and whether this continues across cultures or is confined to certain cultures. This would be done by combing studies from different countries to see if an effect exists and whether it continues to exist across cultures

 

What are the strengths of the approach?

Meta-analysis effectively creates a larger sample size so that results can be generalised to a larger population, this also means that it is possible to uncover effects that may not have shown up in the individual studies. It can also uncover what is causing different results in studies such as study design or sampling errors or what bias or errors in the study contributed to them, i.e. publication bias.

 

What are the weaknesses of the approach?

The sources of biases are not controlled by the method, so it relies heavily on good studies being incorporated into the collection. It could also be viewed that analysing several small studies is not really producing results that might have been found from a single large study. By only selecting what is deemed as good studies there is then an introduction of another bias as to what the researcher believes is a good study and may in the end provide a more heavily biased result.

References:

Normand, S. L. T. (1999). Meta‐analysis: formulating, evaluating, combining, and reporting. Statistics in medicine, 18(3), 321-359.

http://libguides.victoria.ac.nz/research-methods

http://treeves.coe.uga.edu/edit6900/metaanalysisNCREL.pdf

https://peerj.com/preprints/2978.pdf

https://research-methodology.net/research-methods/

https://up-za.libguides.com/c.php?g=485435&p=4425504

https://www.ccace.ed.ac.uk/research/software-resources/systematic-reviews-and-meta-analyses

Scientific Paradigms

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Design Science

 

A paradigm is defined by the English Oxford Dictionary as “a typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or a model. … a world view underlying the theories and methodology of a particular scientific subject.” A scientific paradigm was first proposed by Kuhn (1962) as “universally recognized scientific achievements that, for a time, provide model problems and solutions for a community of practitioners”. He points out that it is for a “time” so this proposal is suggesting that scientific paradigms can shift over time as to what is recognised within the scientific community as to how we perceive and address problems in a such a way (methodology) that can provide valid results.

Guba (1990) believes there are certain characteristics of a scientific paradigm:

Ontology – What is reality?

Epistemology – How do we know something

Methodology – how do we go about finding it out?

Scientific paradigms are used within research to define how that research will be addressed in this particular case. By stating the paradigm that is being used it gives context to that research so that others will know on what premises and with what rationale the research was undertaken.

There are a number of recognised scientific paradigms that flow on a continuum from the purely empirical research of Classical Science through to Social Science where the human element is seen as an integral part of the research and onto the almost completely free-thinking approach of post-modernism. The following table summarises the ontology and epistemology for each paradigm.

 

Paradigms

	Classical Science	Social Science	Post Modernism
Ontology	Realism (Objective existence)	Constructiveness (Researchers construct the reality)	Nominalism (Things are as the researcher thinks they are)
Epistemology	Positivism (Measure objectively)	Interpretivism (You can never be objective)	Anti-Positivism (Each person’s view is valid)

 

The paradigm I have chosen to discuss is Design Science which is a combination of Classical Science, Social Science and Post-modernism. Design Science is becoming one of the predominant paradigms for research within Information Technology.

Design Science is more of a pragmatic approach to research with the creation of an actual product the outcome or conclusion. Using an iterative approach learning and knowledge comes about through creating something, testing it at each iteration and improving and adding from what is learnt from each cycle. Information Technology is growing so rapidly that this approach means products can be created quickly to meet the needs of users. Because there is such a focus on usability and user experience the Social Science paradigm can be brought in for this aspect by getting users to test and use the product and their experience and feedback helps the researchers learn where improvements can be made and what works best for users. Classical Science is used for things like performance testing which allows for a quantitative approach and analysis.

The requirements of the user are fundamental to what is developed, and this stage relies heavily on Social Science by using interviews, surveys, comparative research on other similar products, analysing documents and discourse to define the problem and what is actually required. There is no point in designing a “horse and cart” if the user requires a “Ferrari’ nor is designing a “Ferrari’ when the required product is a “horse and cart”.

Users themselves need to be understood in all their human differences. Not all users are the same and finding out what barriers or needs individual users could have or have is vital in designing a useful product. Both Classical Science and Social Science paradigms can be used to better know what users require in systems and products.

In some cases, Post-modernism is required to “think outside the box” and find a solution by trying something completely new to see if it will meet the requirements. Things like quantum computing rely on what the researcher believes is happening and not what they can actually see or even measure without impacting on that dynamic. Information technology is constantly coming up against scenarios where malicious attacks are compromising systems and addressing ways to quickly counter the problems sometimes requires flying into an idea to see if it will work; as the time to undertake research in a removed manner would leave systems vulnerable.

Users are requiring more complicated and more secure systems as technology becomes increasingly a part of our daily lives. Artificial intelligence, smart devices, homes, cars etc are being developed and researched in a way that creates the product and defines what further research is required to improve the product or system; in particular around security which has been shown to be a massive problem for smart devices.

Design Science can be used to create a product or application using a problem-solving approach. If I wanted to design and develop an application for a business, I would follow an approach defined by Design Science. Initially I would carry out requirement gathering using a series of tools such as interviewing users, identifying stakeholders, comparison analysis with other similar systems, surveys, documentation analysis and so forth. This information gathering process is vital to uncover and describe what the actual problem is so that an appropriate solution can be designed. Once the analysis of all the information is completed diagrams will be used to start designing the first prototype in the iteration process. This prototype will then be tested using Classical Science and Social Science methods and the information gathered from that process will be the knowledge that is defined that will then be applied to the next prototype. This process is carried out on each successive prototype until the user is satisfied that the product meets their actual needs. What is learnt along the way is documented and can then be applied to other design projects. In this way knowledge is gained, knowledge defined and thus added to the pool of overall knowledge within Information Technology which can be applied by other researchers developing other products. For example if I designed an application that could recognise voices for identification purposes when users are wanting to access a system from out on the field using smart devices, the knowledge of how that can be done can be applied and extended for other more complicated applications.

I like this paradigm because of it coming from a problem-solving stance which uncovers as much about the problem as possible and then designs a product to meet those requirements. It is not designing things in isolation from the end users but rather alongside and with them; which I believe is far more likely to produce something worthwhile and valid. What a researcher in isolation may believe users want might not be the case at all and the product produced is not going to provide the users what they need and require. I also believe this approach limits the bias that a researcher will come to the project with as they necessarily have to focus on the users needs rather than what they think they need. I also like that something is actually produced; something that can be used. I have a practical side that prefers an actual artifact to just a theory or idea which then is argued over with no tangible result. The iteration process seems to me to be a logical process so that the user is always in the picture at each cycle so a problem that may not have been uncovered and defined in the requirement gathering and analysis phase can be addressed before the final product is deployed – that makes sense in many ways including cost and gaining knowledge during the development cycle.

 

References:

 

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook of qualitative research, 2(163-194), 105.

Kuhn, T. S. (2012). The structure of scientific revolutions. University of Chicago press.

Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., Rothenberger, M. A., & Chatterjee, S. (2007). A design science research methodology for information systems research. Journal of management information systems, 24(3), 45-77.

Stevenson, A. (Ed.). (2010). Oxford dictionary of English. Oxford University Press, USA.