Information Systems Research (NLIS)
Aims
The course covers fundamental and current research in Information Systems. Topics discussed range across fields and methods. Students will engage in in-class discussions of seminal and frontier papers. Each session is attended by ten or fewer students and is led by an expert faculty, creating an engaging and intimate setting for emerging IS scholars to interact with and learn from their established peers. Faculty and students come from RSM, VU, and Tilburg and can thus form new cross-institutional ties. The course will equip students with a broad understanding of Information Systems research that will inform their own projects as well as prepare them for the job market.
Information
The course takes place across two days, each day consisting of two three-hour sessions.
Day 1 (RSM): 27 March 2024
Day 1 takes place at RSM.
The two sessions offered are:
1. Ting Li (RSM): IS Research Fundamentals (9am – 12pm)
This session aims to familiarize students, particularly those in their first or second year of a PhD program, with the field of IS research. It serves as an introduction to a wide array of topics within the IS literature, setting the stage for future sessions that will delve into specific areas in greater detail.
2. Sijia (Catherine) Ma (Tilburg): Chatbot and Human-AI interactions (1.30pm – 4.30pm)
Human-AI interactions, chatbot design and interactions in IS literature
Adoption, usage, and particularly interactions of AI with human
Collaboration between human and AI, how AI has been used or may have impact for different industries, and how to manage AI in businesses
Day 2 (VU): 15 May 2024
Day 2 takes place at the VU.
The two sessions offered are:
3. Bart v/d Hooff (VU): Complexity in IS Research (9am – 12pm)
In this session, we will discuss the basic tenets of Complexity Theory. Next, we will discuss examples of IS research where these have been applied – primarily focused on understanding (1) Business-IT alignment and (2) managing the increasing complexity of IS architectures, but also exploring other applications in published research. Then, participants will be invited to reflect on the possible value and applicability of complexity-related concepts in their own research.
4. Poonacha Medappa (Tilburg): ML and AI Techniques in IS Research (1pm – 4pm)
Are ML and AI algorithms fundamentally new empirical tools, how do they fit with what we know?
Are these algorithms merely applying standard techniques (like OLS) to novel and large datasets?
What are the issues in using the ML techniques for research?
As IS researchers, how can we use them?
Assessment
Each lecturer has substantial freedom in how they design their session, but the basic framework is a focus on paper discussions. In each session, you can expect something like five assigned readings which you will discuss. Usually, the discussion will be led by a student who has prepared one paper in more detail. The course comprises 2 ECTS. Students will be graded based on their presentation of an assigned reading and course participation. Attendance is mandatory for all sessions.
