Objectives of the MISQ Theory and Review Department

MISQ Theory and Review aims to be the premier outlet for new theoretical insights that advance the study and practice of information systems design, development, management, use, and consequences.  MISQ-TR is receptive to a wide range of philosophical foundations and disciplinary orientations, including perspectives that are constructively critical of established theory and practice.  MISQ-TR publishes articles in a variety of formats, including research synthesis, theoretical essays, and debates.  A major emphasis of MISQ-TR is to support the development of theory that (1) addresses issues and concerns unique to IS theory and practice and (2) promotes further empirical research and practical developments.

Writing research reviews and theoretical essays is in many ways more challenging than writing reports of primary empirical research.  Therefore, MISQ-TR approaches submissions developmentally.  Departmental editors are willing to work interactively with authors from an early stage in manuscript preparation; prospective authors should be prepared for a more interactive (and potentially more protracted) review process than usual.

MISQ-TR will continue to draw on the MISQ editorial board and will occasionally use guest associate editors for submissions.  In addition, we are pleased to announce a Board of Advisors for MISQ-TR.  The current Board of Advisors consists of

• Allen S. Lee, Virginia Commonwealth University
• M. Lynne Markus, Bentley University
• Dov Te'eni, Tel Aviv University
• Jane Webster, Queen's University
• Leslie Willcocks, London School of Economics
• Philip Yetton, University of New South Wales

Encouraged Contributions

MISQ-TR is open to a wide variety of formats, including some that are currently quite rare in the IS field.

Welcomed formats include:

• Comprehensive synthesis (using qualitative, grounded theory, meta-analytic, set-theoretic, or text mining methods) of previously published research with strong theoretical implications (this describes the Review articles previously published in this department ¾ see Webster and Watson 2002)
• Essays on the philosophical foundations of IS theory and research
• Essays examining the theoretical implications of key IS concepts
• Integrative, transdisciplinary theoretical frameworks for the study of particular IS phenomena
• "Pure theory" papers with strong grounding in prior empirical research and/or practice (Gregor 2006; Zmud 1998)
• Process theories
• Debates with clear theoretical implications
• Historical essays with clear theoretical implications
• Critical research essays with clear theoretical implications
• Comparisons of academic theories and practitioners' theories-in-use
• "Evidence-based" information management ¾ reviews of the efficacy of IS interventions (such as ERP system software modifications, agile programming, or KMS librarians) (see for example, Rosseau 2006)
• IS design theories

Highly Valued Characteristics in Submissions

• Critical discussions of the controversies and debates around relevant philosophical foundations, rival theories, and differing conceptualizations
• Clear conceptualizations of concepts unique to Information Systems research (e.g., the "IT artifact")
• Clear conceptualizations of concepts relevant to Information Systems practice (i.e., "action levers" or interventions such as prototyping, training, etc.)
• Attention to history (of theories, IT, etc.) and its implications for the tie-bounded validity of theory and empirical findings
• Descriptions of theoretical mechanisms and processes
• Multilevel theory
• Theoretical statements enriched by relevant findings from previously published qualitative and quantitative research
• Research syntheses that consider relevant qualitative, as well as quantitative, studies
• Research syntheses that employ set-theoretic or text mining methods as well as those that employ qualitative or meta-analytic techniques
• Detailed explanations of, and rationales for, statistical moderation and mediation effects, when such effects are proposed

Submission Process

Contributors are strongly encouraged to submit a brief proposal (5 to 10 pages) to the MISQ Theory and Review Department Editor, Suzanne Rivard (MISQReview@hec.ca), prior to submitting complete manuscripts.  For example, a theory-generative research synthesis might include the following elements:

• Background for the review
• Objectives of the review
• Scope of the review
• Methods for the review (criteria for selecting materials for review, coding, and analysis procedures)
• Contributor qualifications (past work related to this review, if any)
• Suggestions of developmental editors and reviewers

This page and the pages it links directly to are maintained by Jan DeGross the MIS Quarterly. She can be reached at jdegross@csom.umn.edu. It was last updated on January 6, 2010.