Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Action in Action Research – Illustrations of What, Who, Why, Where, and When from an E-Government Project

  • Conference paper
Electronic Government (EGOV 2007)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 4656))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

The core content of action research (AR) is being able to solve organisational problems through intervention and to contribute to scientific knowledge. The main emphasis when discussing AR has been on the “research part”. In this paper we focus on “action part” of AR in order to generate rigorous research, to solve local problems and to deal with evident dilemmas in AR. Action elements are addressed by situations in a project on one-stop government e-service development. As a result of the analysis action is illustrated. Action elements: action, actor, motive, space, time are analysed together with roles. The paper also shows a need to understand initiation, problem and situation addressing as an ongoing process in an AR project. A breakdown in the project is also highlighted and situations where problems discovers the action researcher and vice versa.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Argyris, C., Putnam, R., McLain Smith, D.: Action Science: Concepts, Methods, and Skills for Research and Intervention. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco (1985)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Avison, D., Wood-Harper, A.: Information Systems Development Research: an Exploration of Ideas in Practice. The Computer Journal 34(2), 98–112 (1991)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Avison, D., Baskerville, R.L., Myers, M.D.: Controlling Action Research Projects. Information Technology & People 14(1), 28–45 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Baskerville, R.L.: Investigating Information Systems with Action Research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 2(19) (October 1999)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Baskerville, R.L., Myers, M.D.: Special Issue on Action Research in Information Systems: Making IS Research Relevant to Practice – Foreword. MISQ 28(3), 329–335 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Baskerville, R.L., Wood-Harper, A.T.: A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. Journal of Information Technology 11(3), 235–246 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Checkland, P.: From framework through experience to learning: the essential nature of action research. In: Nissen, H.E., et al. (eds.) Information Systems Research: Contemporary Approaches and Emergent Traditions, Elsevier, Amsterdam (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Cronholm, S., Goldkuhl, G.: Communication Analysis as Perspective and Method for Requirements Engineering. In: Maté, J.S., Silva, A. (eds.) Requirements Engineering for Sociotechnical Systems, Idea Group, Hershey (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Cronholm, C., Goldkuhl, G.: Conceptualising Participatory Action Research – Three Different Practices. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods 2(2) (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Davison, R.M., Martinsons, M.G., Kock, N.: Principles of Canonical Action Research. Information Systems Journal 14(1), 65–86 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kock, N.: Negotiating Mutually Satisfying IS Action Research Topics with Organizations: an Analysis of Rapoport’s Initiative Dilemma. Journal of Workplace Learning 9(7), 253–262 (1997)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Lindgren, R., Henfridsson, O., Schultze, U.: Design Principles for Competence Management Systems: a Synthesis of an Action Research Study. MISQ 28(3), 435–472 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  13. McKay, J., Marshall, P.: The Dual Imperatives of Action Research. Information Technology & People 14(1), 46–59 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Nordström, M.: Styrbar systemförvaltning – att organisera systemförvaltningsverksamhet med hjälp av effektiva förvaltningsobjekt [PhD Thesis in Swedish], To Control System Maintenance Activities, Linköping Studies in Information Science, Diss. No. 12, Dept. of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Riksrevisionen: Vem styr den elektroniska förvaltningen? [In Swedish], Who governs the electronic public administration? Riksrevisionen, Stockholm (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Statskontoret: Sektorisering inom offentlig förvaltning [In Swedish], Sectorization within public administration, Report 2005:3 Statskontoret, Stockholm (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Susman, G.: Action Research: A Sociotechnical Perspective. In: Morgan, G. (ed.) Beyond Method: Strategies for Social Research, pp. 95–113. Sage Publications, Newbury Park (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Susman, G., Evered, R.: An Assessment of the Scientific Merits of Action Research. Administrative Science Quarterly 23, 582–603 (1978)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Walsham, G.: Interpretive case studies in IS research: nature and method. European Journal of Information Systems 4, 74–81 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Winograd, T., Flores, C.F.: Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Ablex Publishing Corp., Norwood (1986)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linköping University, Department of Management and Engineering, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden

    Ulf Melin & Karin Axelsson

Authors
  1. Ulf Melin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karin Axelsson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Maria A. Wimmer Jochen Scholl Åke Grönlund

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Melin, U., Axelsson, K. (2007). Action in Action Research – Illustrations of What, Who, Why, Where, and When from an E-Government Project. In: Wimmer, M.A., Scholl, J., Grönlund, Å. (eds) Electronic Government. EGOV 2007. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4656. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74444-3_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74444-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-74443-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-74444-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics