Los estudios de caso en los SI

Los estudios sociales de los sistemas de información hacen uso de métodos interpretativos, no sólo metodologías del objetivismo empírico. A continuación hago una reseña de los puntos más importantes del artículo “Successfully completing case study research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism”, el cual muestra las bondades de los estudios de caso en la disciplina.

Transcripciones seleccionadas de “Successfully completing case study research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism”. Peta Darke, Graeme Shanks & Marianne Broadbent. Information Systems Journal 8, 273-289. Blackwell Science Ltd.

A case study is “an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context especially when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (Yin, 1994, p13)

Case study research has often been associated with description and with theory development, where it is used to provide evidence for hypothesis generation and for exploration of areas where existing knowledge is limited. It is not the same as case studies as teaching devices.

The interpretivist researcher attempts to gain a deep understanding of the phenomena being investigated, and acknowledges their own subjectivity as part of this process.

The value of an explanation is judged in terms of the extent to which it allows others to understand the phenomena and make sense to those being studied (Walsham 1995).

In the dialectical hermeneutics as theoretical theory, you investigates how the phenomena is used and how the phenomena mean for people. The hermeneutic process continues until the “the apparent absurdities, contradictions and oppositions in the organization no longer appear strange, but make sense” (Myers 1995, p 58).

A single case study is appropriate where it represents a critical case, where it is an extreme or unique case, or where it is a revelatory case (Yin, 1994, pp 38-40).

In discussing generalizability from the perspective of interpretative case study research, Walsham (1995) identifies four possible types of generalization: development of concepts, generation of theory, drawing of possible implications, and contribution to rich insight.

Case study research is an appropriate research strategy where a contemporary phenomenon is to be study in its natural context (Bensebal et al, 1987, Yin, 1994, p13) and “the focus in on understanding the dynamics present in single settings” (Eisenhardt, 1989, p. 534). Case study research is considered to be particularly useful when “research and theory are at their early, formative stages” (Bensabhat et al., 1987, p. 369).

There are research areas within information systems where theory understanding are not well developed. These include areas where a phenomenon is dynamic and not yet mature or settled, such as business strategy concerned with use of the internet, or where terminology and common language and set of definitions are not yet clear or widely accepted.

Bibliografía mencionada en los textos transcritos:

Bensabath, I.; Goldstein, D.K.; Mead, M (1987) The case research strategy in studies of information systems. MIS quaterly, 11, 369 - 386.
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989) Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management review, 14, 532 - 550.
Myers, M.D. (1995) Dialectical hermeneutics: a theoretical framework for the implementation of information systems. Information Systems Journal, 5, 51 - 70.
Yin, R.K. (1994) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 2nd edn. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks
Walsham, G. (1995) Interpretive case studies in IS research. Nature and Method. - European journal of Information Systems. 4, 74 - 81