Design Science Research in Information Systems (3 ECTS)

University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of information technology will open a doctoral course ”Design Science Research in Information Systems”.

Registration

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

For others:

Open until October 10.

15 seats available, and they will be allocated in the order registrations are received.

Course information

https://sisu.jyu.fi/student/courseunit/otm-20a54562-e365-4575-98b9-6781d86ada93/brochure

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.

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.

Workload

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 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 18th January 2026.

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.

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.

Learning outcomes

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).
The student will gain competence in critiquing DSR research articles published in some of the leading academic journals and conference proceedings.
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.
The student will gain competence in critical thinking and synthesis of academic sources.