What is the “genre” of my manuscript?

1. What is the “genre” of my manuscript? Suzanne Rivard June 2011

2. Whatis the « genre » of mymanuscript? • Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • Towards a definition of the MISQ Theory and Review genre • A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript

3. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article

4. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Theoretical contribution; empirical component • Research note • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article

5. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Methodoligical issues or a « short research article » • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article

6. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Researchessay • New perspectives on how researchers should conduct research; methodological perspective • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article

7. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • By invitation from the EIC to offeradvice on where the fieldshould go • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article

8. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Surveys and synthesizes prior research or makes new theoretical contributions.  Review articles act as repositories for the accumulated knowledge, set directions for future research, and advance theory. New theoretical contributions that are well connected to prior theory and research are also welcomed.  • Issues and opinions article

9. Genres of manuscriptsthat the MISQ publishes • Research article • Research note • Researchessay • Researchcommentary • Theory and Review article • Issues and opinions article • Communication of well-developed and well-articulated position statements concerning emerging, paradoxical, or controversial research issues. 

10. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • NOT a theorydevelopmentbased on case studies • NOT a theorydevelopmentbased on a case survey • NOT a meta-analysis • NOT a theorydevelopmentbased on empirical data Although referring to empirical data can certainly make a theory much more concrete and engaging for the readers, we have to draw the line somewhere […] […] If there has to be a discussion of how the new primary empirical data were collected, I [Lynne Markus] consider a paper to be an empirical paper. If the paper only refers to previously published studies (and has other characteristics), it can be a TRms.

11. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • NOT a manuscriptthatjustcounts • Fully 24 of the studies we identified addressed the question of IT adoption in this context. Among the 24, two studied adoption at the organizational level, 10 at the group level and 12 at the individual level. Of the 12 individual-level studies, 10 mentioned organizational-level variables as antecedents of IT adoption. Top management support was the most used dimension (9 studies), followed by power structure (7), organization size (4), and centralization (3). Also, the 24 studies used a wide range of research methods, including single (2) and multiple case studies (5), surveys (10), multi-method studies (2), grounded theory (2), and laboratory experiment (3).

12. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • NOT a manuscriptthatjust classifies

13. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • NOT a manuscriptthatjustmaps the territory Mignerat and Rivard, JIT, 2009

14. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT Mignerat and Rivard, JIT, 2009 • NOT a manuscriptthatjustmaps the territory and identifies issues/gaps • Which unit of analysiswould help IT institutionalistsmake new contributions? • There is a need for broader and clearer definitions of institutions in IT • All pressures are not institutional pressures • History matters • Legitimatingstrategiesenacted • Institutional determinism and the political view of the institutionalizationprocess • New trends of research suggested by the latest publications

15. What a MISQ Theory and Reviewmanuscript IS NOT • NOT the front end of an empiricalstudy: • Hereis the researchproblem • Hereis the literature and the gaps therein • Hereismy model Reviewerswillexpect – demand – empirical data to test the model

16. Towards a definition of the MISQ Theory and Review genre • "An ideal [review] article: •  motivates the research topic and explains the review's contributions • describes the key concepts • delineates the boundaries of the research • reviews relevant prior literature in IS and related areas • develops a model to guide future research • justifies propositions by presenting theoretical explanations, past empirical findings, and practical examples • presents concluding implications for researchers and managers” • (Webster, J., Watson, R.T., "Analyzing the Past to Prepare for the Future: Writing a Literature Review," MISQ, 26(2), 2002, pp.xiii-xxiii [quote from p. xxi]).

17. Towards a definition of the MISQ Theory and Review genre • Example (not meant to be an examplar!!!) : • Kappos, A., Rivard, S., « A Three-Perspective Model of Culture, Information Systems and their Development and Use», MIS Quarterly, Vol.32, No.3, 2008, pp.601-634.

18. Former MISQ T&R SE, Lynne Markus’ suggestion as a generaloutline of a Theorypaper A few recommendations on writing a Theoryand Reviewmanuscript • Introduction • Major section 1: Why is new theory needed, based on in-depth exploration of the philosophical and/or theoretical issues in existing theory? This develops the set of conditions that new theoretical development should satisfy and should be roughly equal in length and importance to major section 2. • Major section 2. New theoretical development • Major section 3. Implications of new theoretical development • Conclusions

19. A theorymanuscript • Example: • Xiao, B., Benbasat, I. 2011. « Product-relateddeceptionin e-commerce: A theoretical perspective, »MIS Quarterly, (35:1).

20. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Lack of consistency in extantresearchresults • Lack of constructconceptualclarity • Limited perspective (s) in studying a phenomenon • Alveson, M., Sandberg, J. 2011. Generating Research Questions through Problematization,” Academy of Management Review, (36:2), pp. 247-271. • Barki, H. 2008. "Thar's Gold in Them Thar Constructs," Database for Advance Information Systems (39:3), pp.9-20.

21. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • The phenomenon of interest • The boundaries of the theory • The constructs • The type of theorythatwewant to build (Gregor 2006)

22. How to getthere? • Start counting! • Buildauthorcentric tables • Upgrade them to topiccentric tables • Map the territory (build a framework) • Identify the gaps – inconsistencies, lack of definitionalclarity, incompleteness of conceptualizations, etc… A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Coverage of extantliterature – geographical and epistemological • Understanding and internalization of the literature • Concept centricratherthanauthorcentric tables • A frameworkratherthan tables

23. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Creation (Jaccard and Jacoby 2010) • Use roleplaying • Talk to « real people » • Observe • Engage in imaging • Reframe the problem in terms of the opposite • Focus on processes or focus on variables • Consider abstractions – or specificinstances

24. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Creation • Formulation • Limit the vocabulary of the formulation to that of the theory • Make sure of stayingwithin the boundaries of the theory • Do not word the propositions as if theywerehypotheses – no correlations, causation • Theorize, do not just state (rely on theoretical explanations, evidence from past empirical findings, and practical examples)

25. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Creation • Formulation • Contribution • How isyourtheorynovel/different? • Whatcanitexplainthatotherscan’t? • How doesitadvance the field?

26. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Creation • Formulation • Contribution • Expansion • What future developmentscanbe made? • How can the theorybetested?

27. A few suggestions on writing a Theory and Reviewmanuscript • Motivation • Definition • Erudition • Creation • Formulation • Contribution • Expansion • Self-congratulation • Congratulateyourself for your good work!