Rigor in Information Systems Positivist Case Research: Current Practices, Trends, and Recommendations1
Abstract
Case research has commanded respect in the information systems (IS) discipline for at least a decade. Notwithstanding the relevance and potential value of case studies, this methodological approach was once considered to be one of the least systematic. Toward the end of the 1980s, the issue of whether IS case research was rigorously conducted was first raised. Researchers from our field (e.g., Benbasat et al. 1987; Lee 1989) and from other disciplines (e.g., Eisenhardt 1989; Yin 1994) called for more rigor in case research and, through their recommendations, contributed to the advancement of the case study methodology. Considering these contributions, the present study seeks to determine the extent to which the field of IS has advanced in its operational use of case study method. Precisely, it investigates the level of methodological rigor in positivist IS case research conducted over the past decade. To fulfill this objective, we identified and coded 183 case articles from seven major IS journals. Evaluation attributes or criteria considered in the present review focus on three main areas, namely, design issues, data collection, and data analysis. While the level of methodological rigor has experienced modest progress with respect to some specific attributes, the overall assessed rigor is somewhat equivocal and there are still significant areas for improvement. One of the keys is to include better documentation particularly regarding issues related to the data collection and analysis processes.
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The study conformed to Dubé and Paré's guidelines for rigor in information systems case study research.
“Appendix A shows how this study conformed to Dubé and Paré's guidelines for explanatory case research in each area.”
From An Explanatory Framework for Achieving Business Benefits from ERP Systems (2012) · cites this paper as Dubé and Paré (2003)
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- Authors
- Dubé, L., & Paré, G.
- Affiliations
- HEC Montréal (CA)
- ORCID
- Paré, Guy
- Venue
- MIS Quarterly
- Publisher
- MIS Quarterly
- Published
- 2003-12-01
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 597-635
- ISSN
- 0276-7783 (ISSN-L)
- 2162-9730
- OpenAlex
- W3150778347
- Cited by
- 976
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 25 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 60 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 59 · 2020: 62 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 81 · 2017: 59 · 2016: 64 · 2015: 65 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 57 · 2012: 52
- FWCI
- 33.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- MIS Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- HEC Montréal
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Information Systems Theories and Implementation
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Business and Management Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research
- Keywords
- case study method, methodological quality, information systems research, research design, data collection, data analysis, research documentation
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