This is part 3 of a 5 part series on using case study research methods in information systems research

This essay provides an overview and review of Walsham’s (1995) article titled “Interpretive case studies in IS research: Nature and method” published in the European Journal of Information Systems in 1995. In this paper, Walsham (hereafter known as ‘the author’) provides a compelling argument that the interpretative approach to case studies can be a valid approach for information system researchers.

The author provides an excellent walkthrough of the background and philosophical basis for interpretative research using a literature review approach. The author does an outstanding job of providing definitions and background to the use of the interpretive approach using the ethnographic research tradition found in anthropology.  Comparing anthropology research to that of information systems research is an extremely smart thing to do since, in most instances, IS research deals with the same types of complex events and structures involving people in addition to technology.  The author makes an argument that using an interpretive approach that has been well documented and widely adopted in the world of anthropological research makes perfect sense in the world of information systems research. This argument is an interesting one that has found its way into other research in the field of information systems research (Avison & Myers, 1995; Marietta, 1999).

In addition the groundwork described above, the author provides three usage modes for using the interpretative approach in information systems case research. These three usage models, taken from Eisenhardt’s (1989) research are: as an initial guide for designing research and collecting data; as part of the data collection and analysis process; as a product of the research itself (Eisenhardt, 1989; Walsham, 1995).  The three usage models help to guide the IS researcher in the use of interpretive research in case studies.  The author provides a well-rounded argument for these three usage models and goes so far as to provide strong evidence that the usage of interpretive research isn’t a viable approach if used as an initial guide for designing research and collecting data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Walsham, 1995).

Although the previously mentioned information should be considered significant contributions to knowledge, the second part of this paper is even more significant as it provides arguments on three extremely important topics for any field of research.  These three topics are: the role of the researcher, the evidence obtained from interviews and the way in which research is reported. These three topics are discussed in the following paragraphs.

The role of the researcher in interpretive research is key as the research is providing interpretations of other people’s interpretations.   This role is tricky because the research has to be fully aware that their contextual ‘lens’ may provide a different interpretation to an interviewee’s comments.

While evidence for research can come from many different areas (documents, historical records, interviews, observations, etc), the main evidence gathering tool for the interpretive researcher is the interview.    Because of the interview being the main tool for gathering data, the author notes that the IS researcher who wants to use an interpretive case method should be aware of various interview methods.

Perhaps the most significant contribution in this section of the paper is the description of how researchers should present their research.  Because interpretive researchers are not reporting facts, the researcher has to quickly build credibility by providing as much detail on the research methods used (Walsham, 1995).

The author does a great job describing the three main topics & issues faced by interpretive researchers.  These issues, while important, can be overcome as long as the research is aware of them and has a plan to address them during their research project.

In addition to the theoretical groundings for using the interpretative approach, the author provides many examples of the use of the interpretative approach in information systems research.  These examples, from the 1980’s and 1990’s, where excellent resources but were a bit old, so a quick search in libraries found other examples of successfully using the interpretive approach in information systems research (Doolin, 1999; Lamb & Kling, 2003; Marietta, 1999; Mingers, 2004; Myers, 1999). For example, Lamb & Kling (2003) performed research on user-centered information systems and presented the concept of users as ‘social actors’ using an interpretative approach (Lamb & Kling, 2003).

While using the interpretative approach for IS research wasn’t new to the world of IS research of at the time of the paper’s publishing, the author has presented a strong argument for the interpretive approach and its use in IS research.

References

• Avison, D. E., & Myers, M. D. (1995). Information systems and anthropology: and anthropological perspective on IT and organizational culture. Information Technology & People, 8(3), 43.
• Doolin, B. (1999). Information systems, power, and organizational relations: a case study. Paper presented at the ICIS ‘99: Proceedings of the 20th international conference on Information Systems, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States.
• Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.
• Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research: Aldine Transaction.
• Lamb, R., & Kling, R. (2003). Reconceptualizing Users as Social Actors in Information Systems Research. MIS Quarterly, 27(2), 197-236.
• Marietta, L. B. (1999). Dangerous liaisons: Trust, distrust, and information technology in American work organizations. Human Organization, 58(3), 331.
• Mingers, J. (2004). Real-izing information systems: critical realism as an underpinning philosophy for information systems. Information and Organization, 14(2), 87-103.
• Myers, M. (1999). Investigating information systems with ethnographic research. Commun. AIS, 2(4).
• Walsham, G. (1995). Interpretive case studies in IS research: Nature and method. European Journal of Information Systems, 4, 74-81.