The Last Research Mile: Achieving Both Rigor and Relevance in Information Systems Research

Abstract

From our desk chairs it may be tempting to work up an idea, build a quick prototype, test it in a lab, and say, "Our work here is done; the rest is merely details." More scholarly knowledge awaits discovery, however, by researchers who shepherd an information systems (IS) solution through the last research mile, that is, through successful transition to the workplace. Going the last research mile means using scientific knowledge and methods to address important unsolved classes of problems for real people with real stakes in the outcomes. The last research mile proceeds in three stages: proof-of-concept research to demonstrate the functional feasibility of a solution; proof-of-value research to investigate whether a solution can create value across a variety of conditions; and proof-of-use research to address complex issues of operational feasibility. The last research mile ends only when practitioners routinely use a solution in the field. We argue that going the last research mile negates the assumption that one must trade off rigor and relevance, showing it to be it a false dilemma. Systems researchers who take their solutions through the last research mile may ultimately have the greatest impact on science and society. We demonstrate the last research mile with cases from our own work and the work of others spanning more than forty years. As a professor of information systems at San Diego State University, Robert O. Briggs researches the cognitive foundations of collaboration and uses his findings to design new collaborative work practices and technologies. He is cofounder of the collaboration engineering field and co-inventor of the ThinkLets design pattern language for collaborative work processes. He has made exploratory, theoretical, experimental, and technological contributions to the areas of team productivity, technology-supported learning, ideation, creativity, consensus, satisfaction, willingness to change, and technology transition. He has designed collaboration systems and collaborative workspaces for industry, academia, government, and the military. He co-chairs the Collaboration Systems and Technology track for the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. He lectures worldwide on collaboration theory and practice, and on the logic of scientific inquiry. He has published more than two hundred scholarly works collaboration systems and technology, addressing issues team productivity, technology-supported learning, creativity, satisfaction, and technology transition. He earned his doctorate Management Information Systems at the University of Arizona in 1994. Air Force officer. He has extensive experience working with the Department of Defense. As a contractor and academic, he has been awarded contracts and grants totaling $39.85 Million over the last 12 years (principle investigator awards total $16.89 Million). Doug has published 41 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference proceedings. Douglas C Derrick Gerhard SchwabeGerhard Schwabe is a full professor of at the Universit...

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