Theories from case studies in software engineering and information systems research

Schedule and location

Tuesday November 3rd - Wednesday November 4th

TUAS building, Room 1171-1172, visiting address: Otaniementie 17, Espoo

Building number 37 on Otaniemi campus map: http://www.aalto.fi/en/about/campuses/campus_maps/

Registration

Registration has ended.

Speakers

Professor Roel Wieringa, University of Twente, Netherlands

Organizer

Research fellow Sari Kujala, Aalto University, Finland.

Overview

Empirical research methods are in widespread use in information systems and software engineering research. Broadly, there are two classes of empirical research methods, case-based methods in which the researcher studies single cases, and sample-based methods, in which the researcher studies samples selected from a population. In this tutorial I will treat case-based methods, using examples from information systems and software engineering research. We will look at the role of case study research in the engineering cycle, and discuss the structure and role of scientific theories in case study research. We will spend considerable attention to case-based inference to provide evidence for or against scientific theories. Participants will be able to apply the concepts and techniques treated in practice.

Detailed Program

Day 1

9:00 What is a case study

Examples
Case-based versus sample-based research
Types of case study: observational case studies, case-based experiments, action research

10:30 Break

10:45 When to use case studies

Engineering cycle
Problem investigation
Technology validation

12:15 Lunch

13:45 Scientific theories

Conceptual frameworks
Architectural and statistical structures
Functions of conceptual frameworks
The structure of theories
Functions of scientific theories: explanation and prediction

15:15 Break

15:30 Assignments and discussion

17:00 end of day 1

Day 2

9:00 The empirical research cycle

Research context
Research problem
Research setup
Inference design
Execution
Data analysis

10:30 Break

10:45 Case-based inference

Case-based versus sample-based inference
Descriptive inference
Abductive inference: Causal, architectural and rational explanations
analogic inference and analytical induction

12:15 Lunch

13:45 Assignments and discussion

15:15 Break

15:30 Assignments, discusssion, wrapup

17:00 end of day 2

Credit points

Doctoral students participating in the seminar can obtain 2 credit points. This requires participating on all of the days and completing the assignments given at the seminar.

Materials

There will be a handout with the slides.

Preparatory reading

Wieringa, R.J. (2010) Relevance and problem choice in design science. In: Global Perspectives on Design Science Research (DESRIST 2010). pp. 61-76. LNCS 6105. Springer. http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1555619.1555630
Wieringa, R.J. and Morali, A. (2012) Technical Action Research as a Validation Method in Information Systems Design Science. In: Design Science Research in Information Systems (DESRIST 2012). pp. 220-238. LNCS 7286. Springer. http ://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29863-9_17

Assignments

Assignments and discussion during the tutorial
Homework after the tutorial

Registration fee

This seminar is free-of-charge for Inforte.fi member organization's staff and their PhD students. For others the participation fee is 750 €. The participation fee includes access to the event and the event materials. Lunch and dinner are not included.