A comprehensive review of survey‐based research in MIS
| Published date | 26 April 2013 |
| Date | 26 April 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/13287261311328886 |
| Pages | 159-188 |
| Author | Erastus Karanja,Jigish Zaveri |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
A comprehensive review of
survey-based research in MIS
Erastus Karanja and Jigish Zaveri
Department of Information Science & Systems,
Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management, Morgan State University,
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Abstract
Purpose – MIS researchers have consistently adopted survey-based research method while
investigating MIS and related phenomenon, making survey-based research method one of the
widely used research method in MIS research. This study seeks to revisit some of the inherent
characteristics of survey-based research method with the aim of improving the quality, replication,
and validation of results in MIS survey-based studies. Additionally, this study provides information
on the most prevalent analytical and statistical tools used in MIS survey research studies.
Design/methodology/approach – In this research, the authors adopt the content analysis
technique. The choice of content analysis is premised on the desire to investigate the sources of survey
data, units of analysis, research methods, and statistical tools used in MIS research with the aim of
improving empirical research in the MIS discipline.
Findings – The results show the prevalent sources of data, the dominant units of analysis, the most
commonly used analytical research methods, and the statistical tools adopted by many MIS
researchers. The results indicate that many MIS researchers get their data from US sources, although
researchers are increasingly acquiring data from other countries. Also, the results reveal that most
MIS survey researchers are using SEM, LISREL, and PLS statistical methods and tools.
Practical implications – The paper concludes with recommendations and implications on how to
inform and retool upcoming and existing researchers on the current and future MIS research tools and
methods. Editors should ensure that MIS researchers provide as much information as possible about
the sources of data, the dominant units of analysis, the analytical research methods used, and the
statistical tools adopted; these will demonstrate the rigor of the research process and enable
replication, validation, and extension of the research works.
Originality/value – The paper presents the results of a content analysis of 749 survey-based research
articles published between 1990 and 2010 in nine mainstream MIS Journals. Prior studies have broadly
addressed aspects of MIS research methodologies like investigating MIS research methods, ranking
them, and generated a taxonomy of MIS research methodology. The results of this study make a case for
the reporting of, both, the analytical method(s) and statistical tools used by MIS researchers to aid in
replicating, validating, and extending the resultant findings of their survey-based research.
Keywords Management information systems, Research methods, Survey-based research,
Empirical research,Statistical techniques,Statistical software packages
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The creation and proliferation of knowledge in an academic field is premised on the
techniques and methods that researchers and practitioners use in collecting, analyzing,
interpreting, and disseminating data and the resultant information (Simon, 1980;
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1328-7265.htm
The authors acknowledge and thank the reviewers that have helped us to focus and highlight the
major findings of this research. They sincerely express their gratitude for their time and effort
that has facilitated the improvement of this document.
Journal of Systems and Information
Technology
Vol. 15 No. 2, 2013
pp. 159-188
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1328-7265
DOI 10.1108/13287261311328886
Survey-based
research in MIS
159
Pinsonneault and Kraemer, 1993). Researchers have also argued that the progress of an
academic field is very much dependent on both the research methods and the data
analytical tools utilized by researchers in their respective fields (Creswell, 2008; Jick, 1979).
The field of management information systems (MIS) has beenin existence since the 1950s –
when it emerged as a distinct academic discipline – and at its core, MIS combines concepts
from, among others, computer science, organizational theory, operations research,
psychology, management, and accounting (Davis and Olson, 1985; Karanja and Zaveri,
2012). As such, many of the research methods and tools used by MIS researchers are, either
borrowed or are, extensions of the methods and associated research tools that are used in
these and other related contributing disciplines (Taylor et al., 2010).
Although the field of MIS has seen a steady rise in the number of new research
methods and tools, research studies utilizing self-report measures, such as surveys, as
the primary or secondary data collection research methods (Palvia et al., 2007;
Palvia et al., 2003; Pinsonneault and Kraemer, 1993) are still common due to the
simplicity and face validity accorded to these methods. MIS researchers also tend to
use surveys as a data collection method because surveys, when well implemented,
provide higher insight into individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, as well as organizations’
practices and policies, in a convenient, private, and confidential environment
(Bell, 1996; McIntyre, 1999). Also, since MIS transcends all the functional spheres of an
organization, surveys are deemed an appropriate research method because of the
inherent strengths of surveys at assessing and capturing intra and inter-organizational
relationships and concerns, as well as recording and facilitating the evaluation of trend
data over time (Baruch and Holtom, 2008; Kraut, 1996). Thus, while seeking answers to
the research phenomenon, researchers solicit data in survey-based research through
the use of questionnaires or interviews.
The focus of this study is on the use of questionnaire-based survey research method
in MIS literature. There are three key elements in a questionnaire-based survey research
namely: survey research design, survey sampling procedure, and survey data collection
phase (Dillman, 1978; Pinsonneault and Kraemer, 1993). A number of researchers
have addressed various dimensions of these issues such as survey research design
in MIS research (MacKenzie et al., 2011; Straub, 1989), survey sampling procedures
(Boudreau et al., 2001), and survey research data collection phase (Scandura and
Williams, 2000) all with the aim of improving the quality of survey research method. For
this study, the focus is on the third element of survey research namely the data collection
phase. The study considers those research articles that either used surveys exclusively
or surveys was the main data collection method (examples are studies that adopted
multiple data collection methods). However, studies that used, for instance, telephone or
personal interviews to solicit feedback/populate the questionnaires are excluded to
minimize the influence of the direct role of the researcher(s). The aim of this study is to
present a synopsis of the trend and research approaches that MIS survey researchers
have adopted from 1990 to 2010 and, hopefully, spur debate on the critique of the trend
and research approaches as well as generate strategies for improvements in order to help
other researchers capitalize on them. Towards this end, the current research hopes to
answer a number of questions, namely:
.Where do MIS researchers get their survey data from?
.What is the most common unit(s) of analysis in MIS survey research?
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