Registration

Students of University of Jyväskylä register to the course in Sisu (course TJTJ7703).

For others:

Open until October 16 2023. Max. 10 participants. Please notice that the lectures will be in Jyväskylä (no online possibility).

After registration please fill the following form and send it by email to office@inforte.jyu.fi: https://www.jyu.fi/it/fi/hae-opiskelemaan/avoin-opiskelu-it-tiedekunnassa/registration_form.pdf/.

Course Description

This course focuses on design science research (DSR), the nature of the research approach, and how to apply a specific DSR methodology for a research project: Echeloned DSR (eDSR). Students will start by reviewing DSR literature on selected topics to understand the DSR research approach. This is followed by a critical examination and evaluation of eDSR and its application for a DSR project. The course gives the students a broad understanding of designing and conducting their design science research project using eDSR. The course applies flipped class and SHLAM2 as pedagogical tools to advance the learning-by-doing approach to study the use and application of the eDSR.

Goals of the Course

This course is designed to introduce doctoral students to DSR in general but specifically to eDSR methodology to understand issues related to research design and its application for a DSR project. In addition, students need to understand the nature of DSR as a research approach and current research issues and themes.

Learning Outcomes

1. The student will have a good knowledge and understanding of how to apply eDSR for conducting a DSR project within the field of information systems (or related fields).
2. The student will gain competence in critiquing DSR research articles published in some of the leading academic journals and conference proceedings.
3. The student will have a good knowledge and understanding of research design issues related to DSR research and can apply these to their Ph.D. research proposal.
4. The student will gain competence in critical thinking and synthesis of academic sources.

Learning and Teaching

Teaching Staff:
Prof. Tuure Tuunanen
Room Ag D514.3

Tel: +358 40 805 4628
Email: tuure.t.tuunanen@jyu.fi
Weekly office hours: https://calendly.com/tuuretuunanen/office-hours

Lectures

Week 1 Introduction to the Course and Show-and-Tell – Problem Analysis
25th October,14:00-17:00 / Agora Gamma B222.1

• Introduction to the course, assignments, and the eDSR.
• Students will present their DSR project’s problem analysis based on the pre-course assignment.
• Students will use a validation technique (e.g., a focus group/interviews) to validate the problem statement.

Week 2 Revisiting Problem Analysis

1st November,14:00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will revisit their DSR project’s problem analysis and consider the design knowledge development.
• eDSR Output: Validated Problem Statement.

Week 3 Show-and-Tell – Requirements Definition
8th November, 14:00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will present their DSR project’s design requirements based on the pre-course assignment.
• Students will validate the design objectives using a validation technique (e.g., an in-class focus group/interviews).
• Students should consider if they need to revisit the earlier eDSR echelon(s) to further develop their project based on the current progress of the project.

Week 4 Revisiting Requirements Definition
15th November, 14:00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will revisit their DSR project’s design requirements and consider the design knowledge development.
• eDSR Output: Validated Design Objectives.

Week 5 Show-and-Tell – Design and Development
22nd November, 14:00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will present their DSR project’s projectable design based on the pre-course assignment.
• Students will use a validation technique (e.g., a design mockup) to validate the artifact's design.
• Students should consider if they need to revisit the earlier eDSR echelon(s) to further develop their project based on the current progress of the project.

Week 6 Revisiting Design and Development
29th November, 14:00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will revisit their DSR project’s projectable design and consider the design knowledge development.
• eDSR Output: Validated Design of the Artifact.

Week 7 Show-and-Tell – Demonstration & Evaluation
5th December, 14:00-17:00 / Agora Beeta B121.1

• Students will present their DSR project’s planned PoC and PoV validation criteria and activities based on the pre-course assignment.
• Students should consider if they need to revisit the earlier eDSR echelon(s) to further develop their project based on the current progress of the project.

Week 8 Revisiting Demonstration & Evaluation
13th December, 14.00-17:00 / Agora D214.1

• Students will revisit their DSR project’s planned PoC and PoV validation criteria and activities and consider the design knowledge development.
• eDSR Output: a plan for PoC and PoV validation.

Learning Resources

This course has no textbook since most readings are from academic journals and conference proceedings. The reading package is provided on the Moodle site for the students (cf. Appendix). However, students are expected to read more widely, including additional articles from any recognized
journal in IS. Useful literature can also be obtained from the AIS Digital Library, the ACM Digital Library, and other bibliographic databases such as ABI/Inform, Science Direct, or the Emerald Library. Many of these libraries and databases are available online, e.g., from the University of Jyväskylä Library at https://kirjasto.jyu.fi/ (usually, you must log in from outside the university network). Additional resources can be found in the ISWorld Section on Research and Scholarship at http://www.isworld.org/.

Note: You are provided copies of copyrighted materials made for educational purposes. These include extracts of copyright works copied under copyright licenses. You may not make these materials available to other persons nor make a further copy for any other purpose. Failure to comply with the terms of this warning may expose you to legal action by a rights owner and/or disciplinary action by the University.

Pre-Course Assignment

Students review the reading package (see Appendix) and analyze the provided teaching case, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW), included in the reading package. Based on their review of the reading package and the analysis of the teaching case, students will present their initial problem analysis for the research project proposal. Students must use the eDSR methodology guidelines for the problem analysis. The pre-course assignment is marked pass/failed as part of the class participation assessment (see below for details). Details of how to structure your weekly presentations are included in the Moodle site of the course.

Assessment

Class Participation 40%
Research Project Report 60%
Note: If the student is late submitting the assignment(s), the student will fail that course assessment.

Assessment Detail

Class Participation will be marked pass/failed. If a student does not participate, submit their weekly self-assessment of their learning progress, and present their work on a specific week, the weekly marks are deducted from the overall marks for the student. The weekly self-assessment will be done via online form with multiple choice questions and a limited number of open-ended questions. The online form and how-to instructions for the weekly presentations are provided on the Moodle site for the course.

The research project report aims to familiarize the students with a broader range of DSR knowledge in information systems research, which has been covered in class. The reading package is provided in the Appendix of this course outline. The research project report is a ‘take home’ exam, and it will assess how well the students have understood the given material and how they can apply the concepts to develop a research project that applies eDSR as a research approach. The report is developed during the course, and the students are expected to work weekly on developing it. Students will be provided with a marking guide (including expected content and length) during the course on the Moodle site for the course.

The research project report should be submitted to the Moodle course site. The deadline for submission is 15 th January 2024.

Note: For passing the course, the students need to have:

• At least 50% of marks for both assessments
• At least 50% of the total marks.

Course Work Time Requirement (3 ECTS = 81h)

Class Participation & Presentations : 24 hours
Class Preparation (incl. pre-course assignment) : 36 hours
Research Project Report Final Write-Up : 21 hours
TOTAL : 81 hours

Course Advice

Prerequisites: Students should have completed the qualitative and quantitative research methods courses (TJTJ7701-2 or similar) and (or be in the process of completing) the philosophy of science course (ITKJ1000 or similar) before enrolling in this course.

The course will use an in-class workshop format. It is organized as a series of workshops that involve active student participation.

Please also refer to the additional handouts about the University's policy on plagiarism. This course will use turnitin.com, a software application, to assess your written work. The outcome of this assessment will be considered for your final grade in the course.

Generative artificial intelligence (such as ChatGPT, etc.) tool use should follow the University of Jyväskylä policy (1). The use is generally permitted, but the student should generate the final text and insights offered in the course assessment. For details, see the university policy document.

Appendix: Reading Package

DSR Foundations:
1. Hevner, A. R., March, S. T., Park, J., & Ram, S. (2004). Design science in information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 28(1), 75-105.
2. Peffers, K., Tuunanen, T., & Niehaves, B. (2018). Design science research genres: introduction to the special issue on exemplars and criteria for applicable design science research. European Journal of Information Systems, 27(2), 129-139.
3. Gregor, S., & Hevner, A. R. (2013). Positioning and Presenting Design Science Research for Maximum Impact. MIS Quarterly, 37(2), 337-355.
4. Baskerville, R., Baiyere, A., Gregor, S., Hevner, A., & Rossi, M. (2018). Design science research contributions: Finding a balance between artifact and theory. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 19(5), 358-376.

A Method for DSR:
5. Tuunanen, T., Winter, R., & vom Brocke, J. (in-press). Dealing with Complexity in Design Science Research - A Methodology Using Design Echelons. MIS Quarterly.

Evaluating the Artifact:
6. Venable, J., & Pries-Heje, J. (2016). FEDS: a Framework for Evaluation in Design Science Research. European Journal of Information Systems, 25(1), 77-89.
7. Peffers, K., Rothenberger, M., Tuunanen, T., & Vaezi, R. (2012). Design science research evaluation. In Design Science Research in Information Systems. Advances in Theory and Practice: 7th International Conference, DESRIST 2012, Las Vegas, NV, USA, May 14-15, 2012. Springer.
8. Prat, N., Comyn-Wattiau, I., & Akoka, J. (2015). A taxonomy of evaluation methods for information systems artifacts. Journal of Management Information Systems, 32(3), 229–267.

Theorizing Design Knowledge:
9. Walls, J. G., Widmeyer, G. R., & El Sawy, O. A. (1992). Building an information system design theory for vigilant EIS. Information Systems Research, 3(1), 36–59.
10. Kuechler, B., & Vaishnavi, V. (2008). On theory development in design science research: anatomy of a research project. European Journal of Information Systems, 17(5), 489-504.
11. Gregor, S., & Jones, D. (2007). The Anatomy of a Design Theory. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 8(5), 312-335.
12. Gregor, S., Kruse, L. C., & Seidel, S. (2020). Research Perspectives: The Anatomy of a Design Principle. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 21(6), 1622-1652.

Teaching Case for Class Research Project:
13. Weiss, N., Schreieck, M., Wiesche, M., & Krcmar, H. (2021). From Product to Platform: How can BMW compete with Platform Giants? Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 11(2), 90-100.

Note: The reading package is not meant to be comprehensive but the starting point for an intellectual journey to understand the different facets of the DSR. Suggested additional readings can be found, e.g., at https://aisnet.org/page/ISResearch.

1 https://www.jyu.fi/en/study/administrative-rules-and-regulations/using-ai-based-applications-for-
studies-jyu2019s-instructions-and-guidelines