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International Conference on Design Science Research in Information Systems

DESRIST 2013: Design Science at the Intersection of Physical and Virtual Design pp 242–257Cite as

An Argumentative Approach of Conceptual Modelling and Model Validation through Theory Building

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 7939))

Abstract

Conceptual modelling and theory building are tightly bundled together, since conceptual models are one way to express one’s thoughts, assumptions, beliefs and convictions, respectively his theory referencing a domain. However, while theory building does account for a process of knowledge creation and the evolution of a theory, which is characterised by falsification and rebuttals, a conceptual model remains a vessel of expressing a current state of knowledge. A theory held in a person’s mind might develop during gaining experiences and through discussions with others, usually held in natural language. A conceptual model, however, disregards these aspects of theory building. Therefore in this paper, we will introduce an approach of purposefully constructing and validating conceptual models by means of arguments. This approach will not just enable a validation of a conceptual model against the theory of the creator, but against all theories the respective stakeholders might have.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Osnabrueck, Germany

    Sebastian Bittmann & Oliver Thomas

Authors
  1. Sebastian Bittmann
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  2. Oliver Thomas
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Information Systems, University of Liechtenstein, Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse 21, 9490, Vaduz, Liechtenstein

    Jan vom Brocke

  2. Department of Information and Service Economy, Aalto University, Chydenia (Runeberginkatu 22-24), P.O. Box 21220, 00076, Aalto, Finland

    Riitta Hekkala  & Matti Rossi  & 

  3. Department of Management Information Systems, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona, 430J McClelland Hall, 85721, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Sudha Ram

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Bittmann, S., Thomas, O. (2013). An Argumentative Approach of Conceptual Modelling and Model Validation through Theory Building. In: vom Brocke, J., Hekkala, R., Ram, S., Rossi, M. (eds) Design Science at the Intersection of Physical and Virtual Design. DESRIST 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7939. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38827-9_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38827-9_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-38826-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-38827-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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